Here are the fantasy repercussions following the news that free agent SF Luol Deng has signed a four-year, 72 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, per The Vertical's Shams Charania.
Deng is clearly on the downside of his physical prime. His best years statistically were when he led the league in minutes per game, peaking with back-to-back All-Star selections in 2012 and 2013 with the Bulls. The days of Deng playing 38 minutes a night are over.
After averaging 16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and a handful of ancillary stats with Chicago over parts of 10 seasons, he had a 23-game cup of coffee with the Cavaliers and then spent two full seasons in South Beach. His points dropped to 12.3 and his rebounds to six per game in his second and final season with the Heat.
The roster makeup between the 2015/2016 Heat and the upcoming iteration of the Lakers couldn't be more different. The Heat were packed with alpha-dogs -- Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Joe Johnson -- that had each spent a considerable amount of time as franchise leaders in previous years. Deng, ever the godo teammate, fell into his usual role as supporting actor.
You may recall that the face of the Lakers for the better part of two decades retired at the end of last season. No more alpha-dogs in L.A., just Deng, Sweet Lou, Swaggy P, Timofey Mozgov and approximately two-dozen 20-year-old prospects.
Deng will be called upon to be a leader, helping shepherd in a host of young -- and often wildly immature -- rising talent. If he can bring a professional attitude to that team, the impact on Julius Randle's rebounding or D'Angelo Russell's passing might not be obvious, but at least it mitigates the risk of a Laker being an informant for TMZ.
General cohesion will be the tide that raises all ships, and adding steady, if unspectacular, veteran role players like Deng and Mozgov can help establish a baseline for players like Randle, Russell and second-overall pick, Brandon Ingram. Ask last year's owners of 76ers rookie Jahlil Okafor if his fantasy value could've used a little less process and a little more veteran consistency.
You can draft the Lakers' young up-and-comers with the knowledge that they are in better hands. In particular, Russell could see a dramatic rise in production from 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season, with Deng essentially being another coach on the floor. When Russell asks for the ball, Deng might be obliged to actually pass it to him.
To call Deng a "shepherd" or "player-coach" isn't meant to disparage his ability; he's still good enough to be a 18-point-per-game scorer -- if that's what he was called to be. But the Lakers are still far from contention and it might take the full-length of Deng's contract for the core group of youngsters to hit their stride as professional basketball players.
At this point, you still have to assume that the Lakers' offense will be built around Russell's playmaking, Randle's athleticism around the hoop and the occasional ISO-heavy angle that Lou Williams can bring off the bench. Deng will act as a conduit, not getting in the way but also being able to slow things down when the team's youth starts to show.
All of this is to say: Don't draft Deng expecting a throwback to his All-Star years. Instead, expect his statistical output to look a lot like his time in Miami.
Deng was drafted with an average pick of 126.7 last season. That's where I would feel comfortable taking him. He'll end up averaging between 12 and 16 points per game this season but he should see a drop off in minutes. Deng stock is on the decline but what he brings to the entire Lakers' roster will boost the outlook for every player in that rotation.
