NBA Rumors: Lakers Among ‘Reasonable Options’ For DeMar DeRozan If Spurs Trade Him, Per ‘CBS Sports’
Amid recent rumors suggesting DeMar DeRozan isn’t happy with the San Antonio Spurs, a new report listed several teams that could potentially consider trading for the shooting guard, including the Los Angeles Lakers.
As discussed on Wednesday by Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, a recent subscriber-only report from The Athletic cited an unnamed agent, who claimed DeRozan “doesn’t like San Antonio and doesn’t want to be there” now that he’s considering whether to opt into the final year of his contract. While the four-time All-Star seemed to debunk the rumors on social media, it was also noted that The Athletic‘s story was not the first to suggest he isn’t happy with his current team, which just missed the playoffs for the first time in 23 years.
As DeRozan is 31 years old and coming off a bit of an off-season statistically, Quinn added his best course of action might be to exercise his player option and possibly hope for a trade. With that in mind, he also listed five organizations that “stand out as reasonable options” if the veteran guard enters the trade market.
In the entry for the Lakers, Quinn suggested the team could potentially acquire DeRozan, who grew up in Los Angeles, for a package featuring role players Danny Green, JaVale McGee, and Avery Bradley. While all three are on expiring contracts, he cautioned there are some caveats to the theoretical transaction, including the defensive skill of the aforementioned Lakers players, as well as DeRozan’s lack of an outside game.
“The Lakers won their championship with defense, and shooting was a concern as well. DeRozan doesn’t help on that front either. The Lakers would have to be extremely confident in their shooting and defense with every other rotation spot to take a shot on DeRozan.”
Aside from Los Angeles, the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, and Toronto Raptors were all mentioned as possible destinations. However, Quinn warned that none of those other clubs make for surefire landing spots, as DeRozan is an “expensive” player who might be better off as a “low-end” starter or sixth man at this point in his career. He added there may be few teams willing to gamble on someone who, despite his scoring ability, doesn’t play good defense or convert regularly from three-point range.
DeRozan isn’t the only player who has been suggested by Quinn in recent days as a possible offseason target for the Lakers. The CBS Sports reporter wrote earlier this week that the defending NBA champions could bring back DeMarcus Cousins on a veteran minimum contract more than one year after injuries forced him to sit out the entire 2019-20 campaign.
