The pressure is always on for the Los Angeles Lakers to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with as much talent as possible in their bid to win the franchise’s 18th championship. Pursuing quality free agents was supposed to be one of the Lakers’ courses of action, with Klay Thompson being the team’s primary target. However, on Monday, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors for Thompson, leaving the Lakers in a difficult position.
Even with Thompson on the board, however, there is still a former All-Star left in the market who could be of immense help for the Lakers’ contending aspirations in DeMar DeRozan. While DeRozan may not be the best shooter in the world, he is a pure scorer who can get buckets from the midrange; he averaged 24 points and 5.3 assists on 48 percent shooting for the Bulls this past season.
With DeRozan reportedly looking at the Bulls’ Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey trade as the straw that broke the camel’s back with regards to his stay in the Windy City, it appears as though the veteran guard will be starting next season on a new team. The Lakers could represent an opportunity for DeRozan to play somewhere closer to home as well as a chance to compete alongside two of the best established stars in the association.
However, the Lakers’ cap situation means that DeRozan would either have to sign for the mid-level exception, necessitating a huge pay cut from the $28.6 million he made last season, or that the Bulls would have to agree to a sign-and-trade to help give DeRozan a longer-term contract that would pay him more closely to what he’s worth on the market.
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