Basketball: Retired NBA star Luol Deng's $105m contract with Los Angeles Lakers finally comes to an end

Luol Deng in action during the 2017 season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Photo / Getty

One of the NBA's worst-ever player contracts has officially come to an end with the completion of the regular season yesterday.

In 2016, the Los Angeles Lakers signed small forward Luol Deng to a four-year deal worth NZ$105m and despite the fact he left the team two years later, the franchise continued to pay him for six years.

The Sudanese born Brit was an NBA all-star in 2012 and 2013 during a mostly successful 10-year stint with the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls traded Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 before he signed with the Miami Heat the following off-season, playing a two-year stint highlighted by a 31-point playoff performance against the Charlotte Hornets in 2016.

Despite failing to fire in the Eastern Conference finals in a seven-game series defeat to the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers came calling in the off-season.

Deng signed a four-year deal worth US$72m (NZ$105m) on July 7, 2016. On September 1, 2018 he was waived by the franchise having played 56 games in the 2017 season and just one appearance of 13 minutes the following year.

The Lakers stretched out the deal and continued to pay Deng $14.35m in 2018 while he also signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves who chucked in another $2.4m for his services. He played just 22 games before announcing his retirement in October 2019.

Despite not taking to the court the Lakers still paid him $5m a year in 2020, 2021 and $4.99m this year.

Deng was the sixth highest paid Laker this season, earning three times more than Malik Monk who played in 76 games for the side.

With the regular season ending yesterday, and the Lakers out of the playoffs, Deng is finally off the books.