Jeanie Buss and the Los Angeles Lakers have paid over $115 million to ex-Miami Heat players. Over the past eight years alone, three different former Heat members were signed to mega-deals by the Purple and Gold, and all three of them turned out to be an utter disaster.
Luol Deng – $72 Million, 4 Years, 57 games (2016-2018)
Kendrick Nunn – $10 million, 10 years, 39 games (2022-2023)
Gabe Vincent – $33 million, 10 years, 5 games (2023-2024)
The Lakers have largely been praised in the Jeanie Buss era but things haven’t always been smooth sailing for the iconic team governor. Just a few years ago, when the Lakers were at their worst, she led the way in some questionable decision-making and there are plenty of numbers to show how bad things really got.
Arguably the biggest issue of all has been the franchise’s decision-making, which has resulted in some of the worst contracts in NBA history. Before LeBron James’ arrival back in 2018, the franchise had no vision for the future and they had no direction for how they wanted to build the team. In the end, they ruined their own chances by offering expensive, multi-year deals to players like Timofey Mozgov and Nick Young.
For some reason, the Lakers seem to have a special attraction toward former Heat players in particular and Gabe Vincent marks their latest acquisition from the area. But after missing most of this season, the Lakers may have finally learned their lesson to stay away from any Miami offer.
All 3 Former Heat Players Were Disappointing For Lakers
The Miami Heat have a special way of bringing out the most in their players and teams often get fooled into thinking they will be able to maintain their level of play outside with a different franchise. The Lakers have fallen victim to this trick many times before and it has cost them a small fortune.
As a candidate for one of the worst contracts of all time, Luol Deng’s 4-year, $72 million deal became a nightmare for the Lakers that haunted them for years. After a solid season with the Heat in the 2015-16 campaign, where he averaged 12.3 points per game, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchack offered him max money a few months later.
For the Lakers, Deng averaged just 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 38% shooting. He only played 57 total games for the Lakers before fading out of the rotation and away from the team entirely.
Years later, the team signed former Heat Kendrick Nunn, hoping that he could be a difference-maker in the backcourt. Instead, he barely made an impact at all over his short one-year stint. Nunn played less than half a season for the Lakers and averaged just 6.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game on 40% shooting.
This season, Gabe Vincent is the latest failed signing for the Lakers and his stats are the lowest so far at just 5.4 points and 3.0 assists per game though just five games. Somehow, the Lakers just cannot avoid bad contracts and just when they are bout to get off of one, they get caught up in another. It makes you wonder who might be the next Heat star to earn riches from the Purple and Gold…
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