In case any had forgotten, Luol Deng has had a stellar career in the NBA, and it seems like his body of work is solid enough to still warrant a possible call from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Los Angeles Lakers decidedly parted ways with the veteran forward, offering Deng a complete buyout of his contract which allowed for him to be put on waivers as a free agent. Deng, originally drafted by the Chicago Bulls and then later played for the Miami Heat sans LeBron James, picked up immediate interest from the Timberwolves who are also courting his former Chicago Bulls’ teammate Joakim Noah.
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According to Hoops Hype, Deng became a free-agent in part because of the lack of playing time that he was receiving which was a result of the direction that the team decided to go in and the dispensing of capital which frees the Lakers up for more possible free agents next summer. The unfortunate measure in the whole matter, as it pertains to Luol Deng and the Lakers, is the misnomer that the former All-Star may be past his days of playing. To some, that would seem the case — there have been a few teams very interested in Deng and what his leadership could bring to a team.
One of those teams happens to be the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are coached by Tom Thibodeau, former coach of the Chicago Bulls during Deng’s time there from 2010 to 2015. Thibodeau is also the president of basketball operations for the T-Wolves. Deng’s potential arrival to Minnesota would be something of a stalwart undertaking in that it would put him back with past Chicago Bulls players Taj Gibson, Derrick Rose, and Jimmy Butler.
Familiarity and chemistry are integral parts when it comes to building a winning team and given the past success of Deng and his former teammates — a 62 win season with a number one seed in the East for the Chicago Bulls, while boasting a surplus in points when Deng, Gibson, Rose, and Noah was on the court together, makes for an interesting acquisition for the T-Wolves if they can truly recreate a similar lineup.