Getty Lakers stars Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James
The Los Angeles Lakers are considered a landing spot for one of the best players in the NBA.
In a December 19 article called “Ranking value of Bulls’ trade assets as season teeters,” K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago said Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan is a player the Lakers could use if the Bulls blow up their roster and rebuild. Chicago has struggled this season after making the playoffs in 2022. The team is only 11-18.
“The team’s leading scorer also represents its best asset,” Johnson wrote about DeRozan. “Even at 33, DeRozan is elite in that department. With a true shooting percentage (.600) just .003 off his career high, he has virtually recreated his efficiency from last season, when he started the All-Star game and made second-team All-NBA. He could make sense for a team looking to make a big splash like the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks, or as a contender looking for a final piece.”
DeRozan is averaging 25.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season while shooting 50.4% from the field, 31.0% from beyond the arc and 89.1% from the free-throw line. The five-time All-Star signed a three-year, $85 million contract with the Bulls in August 2021 as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the San Antonio Spurs.
Report: The Lakers Want DeMar DeRozan
The Lakers want to acquire DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic from the Bulls, according to a December 10 report from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Teams are “watching Chicago very closely.”
“According to NBA sources, the Lakers are interested in both Vucevic and DeRozan,” Pincus reported. “If L.A. is willing to give up two first-round picks (2027 and 2029) along with Russell Westbrook as a buy-out candidate, the Bulls may end up in a better lottery position to retain their pick in June. This is the draft to do it.”
DeRozan took part in meetings at LeBron James’ house during the summer of 2021 and thought he would sign with the Lakers as a free agent. However, Los Angeles traded for Russell Westbrook instead.
If the Bulls decide to blow things up, DeRozan is interested in getting traded to the Lakers, league sources told Heavy.com.
How Can the Lakers Get DeMar DeRozan from the Bulls?
Morten Stig Jensen of Forbes proposed on December 13 that the Lakers trade three players and their draft picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Bulls for DeRozan. Jensen’s theoretical trade had the Lakers sending Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV, Kendrick Nunn and two draft picks to the Bulls for DeRozan, Tony Bradley and Marko Simonovic.
“The Lakers have been heavily rumored as a DeRozan destination,” Jensen wrote. “If Anthony Davis stays healthy, and continues his MVP caliber play, the Lakers could be motivated enough by the glare of another championship that forking over both the 2027 and 2029 first-rounders, fully unprotected, wouldn’t be an entirely unrealistic scenario. In theory, the Lakers could pull off a DeRozan trade without relinquishing Russell Westbrook if they wanted to. Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker, and Kendrick Nunn would instead go to Chicago, who’d send Tony Bradley and Marko Simonovic along.”
DeRozan, 33, is making $27.3 million this season and will have stockpiled more than $257 million in his career when his contract ends following the 2023-24 season.