The NBA ruled out the possibility of removing Luol Deng’s cap hit from the Los Angeles Lakers’ books, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Deng will now remain on the team’s books as a $5-million dead cap hit through the end of the 2021-22 season. The Lakers requested the salary-cap relief last month, as they deemed Deng suffered a career-ending injury.
The two-time All-Star was already in serious decline when he signed a four-year, $72-million deal with the Los Angeles franchise.
He played in just one game in 2017-18 before reaching a buyout agreement with the Lakers. Deng last appeared in 22 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018-19 before calling it a career.
He had averages of 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 902 games during his NBA career.