Miami Heat forward Luol Deng recently has been mentioned in several trade rumors leading up to the upcoming deadline. Heat president Pat Riley might be shopping him, but Deng wants people to know he has nothing to do with it.
Deng has heard the trade rumors, and he wants to be clear that he hasn't asked to be dealt in the wake of Miami's 15-21 start.
"I've had no issues," the 29-year-old told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "My whole thing I've been saying this year is we've been trying to get it right, fit everybody in. It's never that I'm unhappy or anything. Just because they're trade rumors, I'm not the one asking for trades."
There've been two reports to date indicating Deng could be moved before the deadline, but neither report indicated he was the one asking for it.
"The Memphis Grizzlies, looking to bolster their scoring options on the wing in the ever-competitive Western Conference, are actively trying to obtain Miami's Luol Deng or Boston's Jeff Green ahead of the Feb. 19 trade deadline, according to league sources," ESPN's Marc Stein wrote Thursday. "No deal is imminent, sources said, but it has become clear that the Grizzlies are intent on upgrading their wing rotation. ...
"It is not immediately known how willing Miami would be to trade Deng, who is not even halfway through his first season of the two-year, $19.8 million contract he received from the Heat..."
A report on Dec. 29 from Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler, though, said Miami was willing to part with Deng for the right price.
The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 19.
