After failing to efficiently defend their 2020 NBA championship, the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to regroup in the summertime of 2021 following their first-round elimination from the playoffs that 12 months by the hands of the Phoenix Suns.
The person basic supervisor Rob Pelinka needed was DeMar DeRozan, the veteran winger who had spent a number of years making the Toronto Raptors related. On the time, DeRozan was a four-time All-Star, and his scoring and facilitator abilities might have helped LeBron James age gracefully whereas serving to the Lakers bounce again.
In fact, Pelinka determined not to herald DeRozan and as an alternative traded for Russell Westbrook. It was a disastrous commerce that the group continues to be paying the worth for at the moment.
In a current episode of “The Underground Lounge” DeRozan stated he was very near becoming a member of the Purple and Gold and “thought it was a executed deal.”
“It was nearly a executed deal earlier than Russ bought there,” DeRozan stated of his 2021 bid. “It caught me off guard as a result of I didn’t actually see the Russ deal taking place, as a result of we [were] I am working to make it occur. I’ve talked about it earlier than. It was shut… In my thoughts, I believed it was a executed deal.
He as an alternative joined the Chicago Bulls, the place he had a monstrous marketing campaign in 2021-22, averaging 27.9 factors and 5.2 assists. He was chosen to the All-Star staff that 12 months and the subsequent as nicely.
This summer time, DeRozan, a Southland native, was additionally interested by becoming a member of the Lakers. by his personal admissionHe is now a member of the Sacramento Kings, a younger, up-and-coming staff that LA has struggled with over the previous two seasons.
This text was initially printed on LeBron Wire: How shut was DeMar DeRozan to becoming a member of the Lakers in 2021?
