Fantasy Basketball: Should You Pick Up Luol Deng?

By Dave Fuqua | Feb 23, 2016

Feb 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Miami Heat forward Luol Deng (9) during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Should You Pick Up Luol Deng?

The short answer to the question on tap here is yes! You should not only pick him up, but you should open up a tab right now, click on your fantasy team, and go make a claim or Luol Deng as fast as you can. You might even be well served to make a trade offer for him if you are in a larger league.

With Chris Bosh on the mend, someone is going to have to fill the large role with the Heat that he occupied. There is also a chance that Bosh could miss the rest of the fantasy season and make Deng even that much better of an addition for your fantasy basketball team. Bosh was averaging 19 points and seven rebounds a night and that is an awfully large hole that needs to be filled.

Since Bosh has been sidelined Deng has went out and found his lunch pale again. He has notched double-doubles in each game and shows no signs of slowing down. In that short span he is averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds. Deng is certainly talented and very capable of sustaining these numbers over the long haul.

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Chances are you are not going to be able to trade for Deng, but there is a chance that he has a disgruntled owner who has been sick of him and does not think that he can keep these numbers up. However, as long as Bosh stays out I do think that Deng will be a highly valuable fantasy commodity. He may not be able to average a double-double as he does now with 23 and 12 type of numbers, but he can certainly sustain upwards of 18 points a game and eight or more rebounds a night.

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Deng is not anyone that I would want in long-term leagues like dynasty or keeper leagues, but if you are going for a title then he could be a nice inexpensive option to help you achieve your goals for your squad. Deng has always been a tough as nails type of guy, and a player that you can rely on. Feel safe in adding him to your roster if you are one of the lucky ones to have him floating around on your waiver wire.

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With Luol Deng being owned in only 25.2% of ESPN.com leagues there is a decent chance that he could be out there and again I encourage you to open up that other window and run to your fantasy league and claim him for your team as fast as you can.