Luol Deng Discussion: No #Dengdump, Rather Stretched Into Cash

Maybe he is telling the truth. Guys were standing around too much, he was struggling to figure it out. Now things have changed. Sometimes people know what's what.

 

This is what I have a big problem with. If it was that he was just out of shape then why. You got a lot of money and are supposed to set an example for a young players. That's not the kind of leadership quality and example I want our kids following. Get paid and take a quarter of the season to get up to speed.

 

To be fair we have limited knowledge of his off-season. It's possible he has an entirely understandable reason for coming in to the season out of shape whether it be an injury or an illness or whatever the case may be. We're all just a little jaded by what Shaq did.

It is hard to stomach on the surface though with no information on why. Even the studio/radio guys have said the same thing: he looks livelier. His jumper has more arch, he's running more and more smoothly, and he's just been more effective. I had a hard time believing time caught up to him THAT quickly or that a guy of his reputation was willing to coast after getting paid to THAT extent.

Either way, good to see our money wasn't wasted quite as badly as it was starting to seem.

 

Deng had one of the best games I've seen him play all year. Good scoring, rebounding and a few nice passes. He was active most of the game. We need more of this Miami game Deng throughout the year.

 

That one reverse layup he had looked like Deng in Chicago

 

Or just trade him now while he's playing well again.

 

I like Deng's answers here and it's good to see his improvement. I'm dubious about his fit long term (that fourth year, ouch) but for now he's about as good a stop gap SF as we could get while we groom Brandon Ingram to become a starter (maybe next year). He'd be great off the bench when Ingram does make that step to starter whether it's next year or the following.

 

Mo Harkless is also a kid and wouldn't know how to help the young players on our team develop as human beings and professionals. You know, the thing that Luke Walton said was helping push them forward as players.

 

The way I write? I never said anything about being degenerates. I said he's a good influence and a good presence for the young kids.

DIsagree? Look at teams like Orlando, Philadelphia, and Minnesota who are missing good veteran presences on the team. There's empirical evidence to the need for good, professional influences for young teams. I wanted Harkless. I advocated for Harkless. That doesn't mean I can't accept the logic and necessity for Deng and players like Deng. This isn't NBA2K, this is life where kids on the team didn't even know they needed a routine to be professionals. This is real life where kids need a hardass coach because they're not capable of self-motivating the same way.