The Los Angeles Lakers officially waived forward Luol Deng on Saturday after two seasons with the team. The two sides negotiated a buyout under the waive-and-stretch provision, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The development resolves a big question mark in the Lakers' offseason, with Deng due $36.8 million over the last two years of his contract. The veteran was one of the free-agent beneficiaries of the NBA's wild-spending summer of 2016, when L.A. inked to him to a four-year, $72-million deal.
Deng ceded $7.5 million in the buyout, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. The move means the Lakers have cleared $38 million in salary cap space for next summer, enough to sign a max free agent.
"We made this move to further our future salary cap and roster flexibility," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said.
Deng will now enter free agency, where several contending teams are expected to be interested in his services, sources told ESPN's Chris Haynes.
The buyout has been in the works since last season, when Deng played just one game before essentially being deactivated from the Lakers' roster.
In 880 career NBA games over 14 seasons, Deng has averaged 15 points and 6.1 rebounds with four teams.
