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One of the most common names linked to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason has been DeMar DeRozan. The Los Angeles, California native is set to hit free agency and it doesn’t appear he has much interest in returning to the San Antonio Spurs. On Friday, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times dropped a report indicating that DeRozan would like to return home and is even willing to take less money so that he can play with the Lakers.
Obviously, that report was a big deal and has been a major talking point online. DeRozan didn’t directly address the news but did tweet out an emoji of a boy looking at a laptop.
It’s hard to tell what he means by this tweet. Clearly, he took note of the recent report from Turner. However, his tweet doesn’t refute the report at all. It’s no surprise that DeRozan would want to join the Lakers. He grew up a big fan of the team and is one of the best basketball players to come out of Los Angeles over the last two decades. He’s about to an interesting offseason.
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Is DeRozan a Fit With Lakers?
On the surface, DeRozan is a good fit with the Lakers. He would come in and immediately be the team’s third-best scorer. He also hasn’t shown a sign of slowing down as he averaged 21.6 points a game last season. Los Angeles needs scoring help and DeRozan may be the best they can do.
However, signing him isn’t a perfect fit. He’s a career 28.1% 3-point shooter. He does almost all of his damage in the midrange game. The Phoenix Suns just proved that approach can still be effective but it’s not ideal considering the Lakers don’t have many strong 3-point shooters. If DeRozan is willing to come to Los Angeles on a discount, it’s a lot easier to swallow his lack of a 3-point shot.
Another L.A. Native Wants Lakers
DeRozan isn’t the only Los Angeles native looking to come home. Brooklyn Nets free agent guard Spencer Dinwiddie is also aiming to sign with the Lakers, per Turner.
“Guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who starred at Woodland Hills Taft High and California, declined his player option for $12.3 million with Brooklyn to become an unrestricted free agent,” Turner wrote. “Dinwiddie, who missed most of last season because of an ACL injury, has interest in joining the Lakers.”
Unlike DeRozan, it’s highly unlikely Dinwiddie is willing to come home at a discounted rate. In fact, he recently said that he’s worth five years at $196 million. He’s obviously not going to get that much and he admitted that but he clearly values himself. Dinwiddie is coming off an injury so that’s concerning. If DeRozan is cheaper, he’d be the better addition for the Lakers. He’s healthy and a much more consistent player than Dinwiddie. DeRozan has eight seasons where he averaged 20+ points while Dinwiddie has one.
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