Lakers News: Luke Walton Talks Celtics, Latest Buzz on Luol Deng

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are two of the most storied franchises in the NBA.

They have 33 championships between them. So when these two teams go head-to-head, it's always kind of a big deal.

"Lakers and Celtics, everybody knows about that rivalry," Lonzo Ball told Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. "Bird and Magic. One of the best rivalries ever."

But while the Lakers vs. Celtics might be the most important rivalry in sports, head coach Luke Walton's won't be focused on it before the game:

"As much as we like beating Boston and we want to beat Boston, that's not going to be part of my pregame speech at all. Obviously the history (with Boston) is there, but as much as that's still relevant in today's sports, on the list of how high of a priority that is for what we're working on, whether it's Boston, Washington, Milwaukee, it's all the same. They're good playoff teams."

Right now, the Lakers (5-5) are more focused on sustaining their drastically improved defense, which is ranked seventh in the league. Additionally, Walton wants Ball to improving his lackluster 29.9 percent field-goal percentage.

The Lakers have won three of their last four games and will face their biggest test on the road against teams with winning records, including the Wizards, whom they beat despite John Wall's personal promise to show Ball "no mercy."

Luol Deng wants out of L.A.

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Luol Deng has grown tired of getting paid for nothing.

Deng, who signed a whopping four-year, $72 million contract last summer, continues to be on the Lakers' inactive list, despite the injury to Larry Nance Jr.

There was a brief possibility that he might get back in the rotation when Nance broke a bone in his left hand last week, but rookie Kyle Kuzma was inserted into the starting lineup and has flourished in that role, making Deng the odd man out.

Deng told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne:

"It definitely hurts. But the only answer for me now is to prove myself away from L.A. I'm not asked to play, I'm not in the rotation, so I can't prove myself here."

Deng, who has two years and $37 million left on his contract after this year, and his agent Jeff Austin continue to work on a trade or buyout, but he understands that the process could take some time.

"You just never know," Deng said. "It could be a month, it could be a week, it could be three months. I don't want something to happen and I'm called upon, but my shape holds me back. The challenge is to challenge yourself to be in better shape than if I was playing. Then, if I fall short, I'm still in good shape."

The Lakers confirmed that they have met with Deng's representatives to come to a solution that would allow him to play more, whether via trade or buyout, per Shelburne.

There's no friction, however, between Deng and Walton, who said he's been up-front about the team's focus on developing their younger players:

"We have a really young group that we're trying to grow together and get as much opportunity as possible. I know that that's not obviously the ideal situation for you or what you signed up for; I have compassion for that. What we need out of you is to be a really good vet, to be a leader in the locker room and be a mentor to these guys, because a lot of them look up to you. And for you to be ready. You never know how the NBA season goes. There's always injuries. There's always something that happens. Opportunities will be there."

Deng, who started 53 games last year before moving to the inactive list and logging "did not plays" for the rest of the year, said he understands Walton's vision and still wants to atone for last season:

"You spend the whole summer like, trying to come back for the city, for the team, to prove that it was just one bad year. But the opportunity's not there. I know I make a lot of money, but for me--I came from nothing, so it's always been about the love of the game.