Here’s the deal: the last time I uploaded a highlight video depicting the on-court exploits of Luol Deng was way back in 2016. 2016. Repeated for emphasis. Does anyone even remember anything that happened all the way back then? Because I sure don’t. Who even won the championship that season? Those highlights were of the 22-point variety, and it was the only good scoring game he had for the Lakers all season.
We all know what happened the next season. He played in the season opener, hit one shot, and then was literally banished from the team. Like, they told him to not even come to practice. What the heck was going on there? That whole situation was so mystifying to me. Even if his contract really sucked, just telling a guy to go sit on his couch and watch the games from home seems like a terrible thing to do. I wouldn’t mind, but Deng’s a basketball player. He wants to ball. He doesn’t get paid to not ball.
Now he’s with the Timberwolves because Thibs still loved him, but even he couldn’t find minutes for him. So imagine my surprise when I start seeing his name appear in boxscores, with a decent (for a guy who has been not ever playing for way over a year) point total next to it. And now tonight. 15 points for the guy who was given a ton of money and then left for dead. I wouldn’t say I’m all that excited, because I was never a huge fan of this dude, but this has got to feel good for him. And all his fans, who will have to come out of serious hibernation to discover that he can still play.