Miami Heat forward Luol Deng shocked pretty much everyone by exercising his $10.1 million option for the 2015-16 season prior to midnight deadline Tuesday morning.
To Heat's own surprise … Luol Deng has decided to stay with Miami. Another break for the Heat after getting Winslow on draft night
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2015
Deng, 30, signed a two-year, $19.9 million free-agent deal with the Heat last summer. He put up an average of 14.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season. The move is especially surprising considering Miami selected Deng’s potential successor, Justise Winslow, with the 10th pick in the 2015 NBA draft last week. The team likely won’t have must interest in retaining the veteran forward beyond next season.
Deng’s decision comes on the heels of Goran Dragic officially opting out and reports that Dwyane Wade will opt out of his deal.
By opting in, Deng puts the Heat in a less-than-stellar salary cap situation while allowing them to retain a solid core player. If it were to re-sign Dragic to the reported five-year, $80 million deal the team is said to be offering the guard, Miami would be limited to the $5.5 million full mid-level exception or the $3.4 million mid-level exception to replace Wade. Of course, this is all dependent on Wade bolting in free agency, something that still seems to be a long shot.
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