Lakers unlikely to sign DeMar DeRozan in free agency

One of the time-honored traditions of NBA free agency is finding some way to link the Lakers and DeMar DeRozan. No player has been connected more to the franchise without ever actually playing for them.

Between trade rumors and repeated free agent pushes, DeRozan has flirted with joining the Lakers time and time again. It should come with at least modest surprise, then, that the Lakers and DeRozan will not be connected this offseason.

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On Monday morning, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that DeRozan and the Kings were working on an exit, which came after the two sides could not find a trade.

However, later on in the day, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that DeRozan would not be someone the Lakers considered signing once he hits the free agent market.

At 36 years old, DeRozan won’t have many more years left in the league. Last season, he averaged 18.4 points on 49.7% shooting from the field. But he shot 32% from three after shooting 32.8% the year prior.

In theory, he plays the four and is not a traditional big, so he could offer some spacing. But he’s also ball dominant, can’t shoot threes and isn’t a good defender.

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This bucks the trend of years of him being linked to the Lakers. For old time’s sake, here’s an extensive list of all the times he talked about wanting to play for the franchise.

Oct. 9, 2021 — DeRozan tells Shams Charania of The Athletic it would have been a “hell of an opportunity” to play with the Lakers this season.

June 30, 2016 – The Lakers were among the teams to meet with DeRozan in free agency, according to Haynes.

Theoretically, he could still talk about wanting to join the Lakers. Don’t be surprised if he pops onto Draymond Green’s podcast and tells everyone he wanted to come to LA and the Lakers didn’t want him. Watch this space when he does.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-unlikely-sign-demar-derozan-021307932.html

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Publish date : 2026-07-07 02:13:00

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