When Luol Deng signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Miami Heat, some were surprised by the dollars and term Deng settled for, especially since he turned down a three-year, $30 million offer from the Chicago Bulls before he was traded to Cleveland last season.
Via Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago, Deng’s agent, Ron Shade, explained the comfort level between Deng and Pat Riley during their negotiations:
“I think Miami, obviously losing probably losing [sic] the greatest player in the game currently, their team is going to change a bit. The comfort that he had is when we sat down with (Heat president) Pat Riley and since we’ve talked to him, he’s said they know Lu. They’ve played against him. They’ve seen Lu at his best moments and his worst moments, and I think they understand that while Lu isn’t going to fill in for LeBron, Lu can step in and replace some of the things that LeBron did,” Shade told CSNChicago.com.
Deng was pursued by Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix, who all arguably could have provided a better chance at winning right away than a Heat team without LeBron, and most certainly would have been willing to offer more money and years. Shade explained Deng’s thought process:
“The Bulls’ offer when he was traded to Cleveland, it was a take-it-or-leave-it offer. In this situation, we still had options. Luol had choices to make. He made them. He decided this, and at the end of the day, while it’s $10 million, there’s no state income tax. So maybe you gain about a million dollars in that. But at the same time, it gives him options. He’s a free agent at the end of this year, and it gives him the opportunity to play out a year healthy, to play out a year in a situation where he can be highlighted. So what’s in the past is in the past. The Bulls’ offer is the Bulls’ offer. Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, at that time, we didn’t feel it was the right offer to accept for Lu and right now he’s happy with the decisions that he’s made, and he knows it’s going to be great to help him further his career.”
Even though Deng is leaving himself the option to explore the market again next summer, there’s a bit of risk here. He’s heading into his 11th season in the league, and led the league in minutes per game in 2011-12 and 2012-13, when he logged 39.4 and 38.7 minutes per game, respectively (Ed. Note: Thibodeau!)
Deng averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season and is still a very capable contributor on a contender. But all it takes is an injury or a down year for his value to plummet on the market. Given his position, it’s surprising Deng didn’t secure a bigger offer now.
The appeal in Miami is understandable, though. Without LeBron, Deng will have a much bigger role on both ends of the floor, and playing with someone like Chris Bosh will create help create the offensive spacing Deng needs to be effective. Plus, Riley’s well known as a motivator and perhaps Deng was simply overwhelmed by his persuasive efforts during negotiations.
Either way, Deng is in Miami now. If he outperforms his contract, he might not be there for long, but that’s a big if for a player who turns 30 at the end of next season.
What do you think?
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