![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="439" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
DeMar DeRozan joined the Sacramento Kings during the offseason, but from the horse’s mouth, he considered joining the Philadelphia 76ers when free agency started.
DeRozan admitted who else he considered during the 2024 NBA Offseason before he joined the Kings while on Paul George’s podcast.
“Philly definitely was an option. Lakers was an option always. Clippers was an option. And the Heat,” DeRozan said on the podcast, aggregated by ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly. “Those teams, for sure, were real personal, legitimate options that I was considering.”
The Sixers positioned themselves to add an All-Star free agent and accomplished that goal by adding George. However, doing so took them out of the running for DeRozan, knowing the price he signed for in Sacramento.
After three uneventful seasons with the Chicago Bulls, DeRozan returned to his home state of California. He will start the first year of a three-year, $73.8 million contract with the Kings. Over the course of his 15-year NBA career, DeRozan has made the All-Star team six times.
Sixers Had Interest in DeMar DeRozan at Trade Deadline
It comes as no surprise that there had been some interest from DeRozan on the Sixers’ side. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported that DeRozan was among their targets before the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.
“The Philadelphia 76ers have remained active in trade talks for several potential impact players, including DeMar DeRozan,” Scotto wrote in a February 8 report.
At the time, the Sixers wanted to win and be players in free agency. Since DeRozan’s contract was set to expire, the Sixers could acquire him and still have financial flexibility during the 2024 NBA Offseason.
Now, the likelihood of a trade is nothing because of how much the Sixers will pay George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey. Because of how much cap space those three take, the Sixers can’t acquire his contract knowing the other players on the roster.
In addition, the Sixers would likely consider him unnecessary, given the scoring prowess of their three best players. Regardless, it sounds like not only did the Sixers never lose interest, but it was mutual between the two sides.
DeMar DeRozan Working Out With Kyle Lowry
Though DeRozan won’t play for the Sixers for the time being, he’s still spending time with current Sixers on the roster.
DeRozan was pictured working out with former Toronto Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry on Lowry’s personal Instagram on September 6. With training camp only weeks away, the two of them played basketball together in Texas.
Lowry and DeRozan played together from 2012 to 2018. They are known to be close friends who have maintained their friendship over the years despite separating a while ago.
The duo brought relevance the Raptors had never consistently experienced as a franchise. The two of them could reunite in the future, though Lowry is a Philadelphia native, which factored into why he went back to his hometown with the little time he has left in the NBA.
However, those two could reunite with the Kings or, by some miracle, with the Sixers, should the Sixers make that work.
0 Comments