Last month, the Los Angeles Lakers requested a career-ending injury application for Luol Deng. If the NBA approved their application, the $10 million Deng is owed over the next two seasons wouldn’t have counted against their salary books, and they would have had more financial flexibility for both this season and next season.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, that application was denied. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA’s “Fitness-To-Play” panel deemed that Deng didn’t suffer a career-ending injury during his time in Los Angeles:
The Los Angeles Lakers application to exclude Luol Deng’s salary from team salary books has been denied by the NBA, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.