NBA free agency: Players that signed with the wrong team

4. Luol Deng — Los Angeles Lakers

You have to wonder what Luol Deng (and a bevy of other former members of the Chicago Bulls) would look like at the end of their primes in regards to productivity had they not worked the heavy minutes load laid on their shoulders (and knees and feet) by Tom Thibodeau. However, Deng proved last year with the Miami Heat that he’s still able to be a productive player on the wing and could really contribute to a team that needs a boost defensively and with just an all-around solid player on the wing.

Yet Deng ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and the move just doesn’t make a great deal of sense. No, this doesn’t have anything to do with the Lakers drafting Brandon Ingram as allowing him to grow behind a veteran to start the year is almost surely the best course of action with the slight-framed young forward. However, it does have to do with the fact that Deng signed a long-term deal to play for a team where his role is only going to diminish and where he doesn’t fully address the needs of the team.

Looking at the Lakers and their needs on the wing, they needed a player that could both defend and fill it up offensively from the perimeter. While Deng is still a solid team defender, he’s not the player that he once was earlier in his prime and isn’t going to affect the game for the Lakers in the way that they probably hope he will. Moreover, he’s a relatively unreliable outside shooter for his career, despite average numbers in Miami the past two seasons. Frankly, it seems as if he’s just going to be wasting his last good years on the west coast.

Next: No. 3 Turner