Los Angeles (AFP) – Sudanese-born British forward Luol Deng has agreed to a four-year NBA free agent deal worth $72 million (64.6 million euros) with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to multiple media reports Saturday.
Players and teams can come to terms on free agent agreements but no deals can be signed until Thursday, leaving reports unconfirmed and deals incomplete until then.
Deng averaged 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 74 games last season for the Miami Heat. He joined the Lakers after talks with Washington and Utah.
“Congrts my brother,” tweeted Miami star guard Dwyane Wade. “Now you can afford your own @stance socks..One of my all time favorite teammates. Proud to call you a friend!”
Deng, 31, spent time at small forward and power forward for the Heat last season after Chris Bosh was lost for the season in February with blood clots. He joined Miami in 2014 to replace LeBron James when the superstar playmaker left for Cleveland.
In 12 NBA seasons, Deng has averaged 15.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists for Chicago, Cleveland and Miami.
The Lakers signed four-year deals with guard Jordan Clarkson for $50 million and Russian center Timofey Mozgov for $64 million on Friday when free agency began.
Terms were finalized late Friday on Joakim Noah’s four-year deal for $72 million with the New York Knicks. Noah posted a photo of himself wearing a Knicks cap on his Instragram account, accompanied by the message, “Jah bless.”
Noah, 31, joins former Chicago teammate Derrick Rose on the Knicks roster.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.