Getty DeMar DeRozan of the San Antonio Spurs is linked to the Clippers yet again.
San Antonio Spurs star DeMar DeRozan may find himself having at least two attractive suitors very soon. Both the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers have been mentioned as two teams set to pursue DeRozan in a serious way.
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said on The Jump on July 26 that the Clippers were showing interest in the Spurs star. When insider Bobby Marks noted the Lakers were going to be pursuing a trade for DeRozan, Spears interjected, telling Marks that the other team in L.A. may be competing for his serivces.
“Add the Clippers to that,” Spears said. “I talked to someone close to DeMar today, and they said: ‘Look, San Antonio is still on the board, so don’t count the Spurs out.’ But there’s a lot of teams showing interest in DeMar. Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Chicago.”
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L.A. is DeRozan’s Home Town
Spears says DeRozan, who hails from Compton, California, finds the idea of heading home appealing for very personal reasons. “L.A. is certainly attractive,” Spears said about possible trade destinations for DeRozan. “I know I went with him to his camp in Compton. He does a lot back home. His father, God rest his soul, passed earlier this year and his mom is still in Los Angeles, so going back to L.A. is attractive for family reasons, to get back home to be close to his family and perhaps even do more in the community than he already has. So, it ain’t just the Lakers. The Clippers have some interest, too.”
Spears isn’t alone in this line of thinking.
“It is important to note that DeRozan is from the Los Angeles area, went to school at USC, and is reportedly intrigued with the idea of returning home to compete for a championship. This is an opportunity that would be available to him with either the Clippers or the Lakers, so it may come down to which team is willing to construct the most competitive trade package,” Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated noted about the situation on July 26.
Could the Clips manage to put together a trade package that would top one the Lakers concoct? That may be the key question.
Who Could Clippers Offer Up in Trade Package for DeRozan?
Considering the Clippers’ current financial situation, a sign and trade would have to go down in order to acquire DeRozan, with Patrick Beverley, Luke Kennard, and Ivica Zubac being the likeliest trade chips.
How serious could the Clippers be about going after him? Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report thinks the way the Clips’ season ended may result in the team looking for a few more weapons on offense, with DeRozan being a logical target:
“The Lakers (Anthony Davis) and Clippers (Kawhi Leonard) both saw key players injured in the playoffs, which contributed to their respective exits. But the postseason also showed how even top-heavy teams can benefit from having a secondary scorer who can create his own shot on occasion. That’s an area DeRozan can address for next year.”
As of now, the DeRozan rumors are just that: talk. But it’s definitely something for Clipper Nation to keep an eye on.
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