30 richest players in the NBA
By John Buhler
Luol Deng
Small Forward, Los Angeles Lakers
Few players in the NBA know how to get paid on a declining skill set to the degree of Los Angeles Lakers small forward Luol Deng. 12-year NBA veteran has made a killing in free agency, now on his fourth team in Los Angeles. Deng has made $117,118,719 thus far in his NBA career.
After playing one year at Duke, Deng was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. He spent the first nine NBA seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Deng signed a three-year rookie contract worth $7.33 million with the Bulls in 2004. Chicago would offer a team option for a fourth year in 2006, worth $3.32 million.
In restricted free agency, Deng would sign his first big NBA contract: six years worth $71 million. Though Deng was an All-Star level player for the Bulls, he began to rapidly decay physically thanks to playing ultra-aggressive defense under former head coach Tom Thibodeau. Deng was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in January 2014. Cleveland would later renounce his rights and he would be an unrestricted free agent that summer.
Deng would sign a two-year deal worth $19.87 million with a player option for 2015-16. He would exercise that player option to the tune of $10.15 million. Then, things got crazy during 2016 free agency.
Deng would sign a ridiculous four-year deal worth $72 million with the Lakers, all of which is guaranteed. By the end of the 2019-20 NBA season, Deng will have made roughly $171,118,119 before he exits his mid-30s.
What seems to have happened with Deng is that he came into the league very young and at the right time. When he was up for contracts, he was in the first class to reap the benefits of the new collective bargaining agreement. There is a chance he could end up making over $200 million in NBA salary before retiring in his late 30s.