THE The Los Angeles Clippers had a busy summer, completely overhauling their team around Kawhi Leonard. At one point there was even a chance that the The Clippers could have landed free agent and now Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan.
The Clippers eventually saw Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Daniel Theis, Mason Plumlee, Brandon Boston and Moussa Diabate leave as free agents. This gave the Clippers some options to retool their roster.
DeMar DeRozan chose Kings over Clippers and Lakers
When free agency began, everyone expected Paul George to make his decision. He did so fairly quickly, opting to sign a four-year, $212 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Shortly thereafter, Klay Thompson, OG Anunoby, LeBron James, Pascal Siakam, Isaiah Hartenstein, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, James Harden, and Tobias Harris all signed contracts with their new teams.
It took a few days, but DeMar DeRozan finally found the Sacramento Kings, who facilitated a trade with the Chicago Bulls to acquire him. DeRozan signed a three-year, $74 million contract with an unlikely $3 million in upside.
DeRozan was recently a guard on “Podcast P with Paul George” on Monday, and that’s where the Kings guard explained why he ultimately joined the Kings in free agency.
“I was just looking for an opportunity to win at a high level, wherever that may be,” DeMar DeRozan told Paul George on the P Podcast.[Sacramento] They started to take an interest in the team, and they showed real interest. When I sat down, I looked and analyzed the team. Great players, great coach. I always remember the last two years where I always saw them shine and win.
“We definitely have a movement. That’s something you always want to be a part of: the contagious culture of an organization that wants to win. When I looked at all that, I felt like it was a good fit.”
With Sacramento, DeRozan will now join forces with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, who formed an excellent duo, but not enough to get past the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Kings hope he can lead them to the top.
DeMar DeRozan considered Lakers, Clippers
Besides the Kings, DeMar DeRozan said there were four other teams he considered: the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat.
“Philly was definitely an option” DeRozan said“The Lakers were always an option. The Clippers were an option. And the Heat were also an option. Those teams, of course, were personal and legitimate options that I considered.”
With a few other moves, the Clippers were able to open the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and the biannual exception. Those probably weren’t going to be enough to bring in DeRozan.
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Sources familiar with the situation said last July that the Clippers and DeMar DeRozan were interested in a partnership, but were unable to afford DeRozan’s asking price.
A similar situation occurred in the summer of 2021, when DeRozan signed a three-year, $85 million contract with the Chicago Bulls in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs. DeRozan was reportedly on his way to a free agency meeting with the LA Clippers, but canceled out of respect for them when he was informed of the Bulls’ offer.
The Clippers reorganized their roster around Kawhi Leonard, re-signing James Harden while also seeking to acquire Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, Mo Bamba, Kevin Porter Jr. and Cam Christie.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers were also interested in DeRozan’s services this summer, but, like the Clippers, they struggled to make a competitive offer. The Lakers would have had to shed salary and make a number of trades to do so, and that never seemed like a real possibility.
At the time, Shams Charania had also reported in July that DeMar DeRozan and the Lakers I never got past the “interested” phase.
DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings will open their 2024-25 regular season on Oct. 24 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
