Getty Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers
The ongoing NBA rumors linking the Los Angeles Lakers to Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan continue to intensify. According to the latest odds by BetOnline.AG, the Lakers are the favorites to trade for DeRozan at +200 if the Bulls opt to trade the star guard, an important added caveat for the numbers. The Heat (+400), Celtics (+500), Mavericks (+500) and Grizzlies (+500) are also among the favorites for DeRozan.
The veteran’s three-year, $81.9 million contract runs through the 2023-24 season giving the Lakers a full season with DeRozan beyond 2022-23 if the team is able to swing a deal by the February 9, 2023 trade deadline. DeRozan has a $27.3 million salary for the 2022-23 season, a reasonable number given his production.
The three-time All-NBA member is averaging 25.9 points, five rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 29.5% from long range through his first 31 starts this season. Los Angeles has long flirted with DeRozan, but the team opted to acquire Russell Westbrook instead of signing the star during the 2021 offseason.
The Bulls Could Get Started on a Full Rebuild, Says NBA Exec
.@MagicJohnson says the Lakers could’ve had DeRozan, Hield and Caruso instead of Westbrook 👀
“If you sign DeRozan, you only trade Kuzma for Buddy Hield, we would be playing in the Western Conference championship this year with those two guys.”
There is a growing sense around the league that a full rebuild is coming in Chicago, but the question is whether the Bulls will hit the reset button by the mid-season mark. During an exclusive interview with Heavy Sports NBA insider Sean Deveney, one Eastern Conference executive noted that Chicago will have an easier time finding a landing spot for DeRozan than Zach LaVine.
“A full rebuild kind of thing, that is not going to happen this year, but they could get started on it,” the league exec noted. “They’re not going to trade away Zach LaVine during the season. They will have an easier time with moving on from DeMar DeRozan if that is where they go but even that, it is something they would wait until the summer to do, rather than try to pull off a move at the deadline.”
The Lakers Are Unlikely to Make a Major Trade After the A.D. Injury: Report
For the Lakers to have a chance at landing DeRozan, the team would likely need to be willing to trade both of their available first-round picks in 2027 and 2029. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Anthony Davis’ injury has Los Angeles looking to make smaller moves that would involve potentially trading just one future draft selection.
“Davis’ injury has increased the probability that the only move the Lakers make is a smaller trade featuring, at most, one first-round pick, sources with knowledge of the Lakers’ plans told The Athletic,” Buha wrote on December 21. “The one exception is if a star that can grow alongside Davis over the next few years becomes available.
“But the most likely trade outcome, at this point, is some form of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and either the 2027 or 2029 first-round pick (likely protected) for a 3-and-D wing or combo forward that fits well next Davis and James, those sources said.”
DeRozan Believed He Was Joining the Lakers in 2021
“I was hell bent on playing for the Lakers.”
DeMar DeRozan thought for sure he would be rocking a Lakers jersey 👀
DeRozan has not been shy about discussing his belief that he was headed for an L.A. homecoming. During a November 16, 2021 interview with NBA insider Chris Haynes (who was with Yahoo Sports at the time), DeRozan noted that he believed joining the Lakers was a “done deal” in 2021.
“I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and that we were going to figure it out,” DeRozan said at the time. “I was going to come home. The business side of things just didn’t work out. A couple of things didn’t align. It didn’t work out. It’s just part of the business, part of the game. My next option was definitely Chicago. So, looking back at it, it worked out well.”