NEWSLETTER
For the majority of NBA buffs (myself included), nothing is going to fully justify the chunk of change Chicago’s front office handed DeMar DeRozan this offseason. A three-year, $81 million contract was significantly more than anyone expected the 32-year-old to walk away with, especially as he spoke about wanting to join a contender this summer.
However, as more and more reports started to emerge late this offseason, we did begin to get a better idea of just how many suitors there were in the free-agent market. More specifically, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer listed the 76ers, Warriors, Trail Blazers, Celtics, and Knicks as teams that were interested in DeRozan’s services. The New York Posts’ Marc Berman went on to share more information on the Knicks pursuit, claiming that the front office was “leaning toward” adding the four-time All-Star instead of Evan Fournier. New York (unlike the other playoff teams listed by Fischer) had significant spending power this summer, so they could have presented a real threat to the Bulls’ initiative.
Two other teams we know had DeRozan on their list were the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers. Of course, both teams felt unlikely considering each would have had to do substantial salary-cap maneuvering to make a deal work. But we all know big-market teams can often find a way, and that is likely why the Bulls made sure to seal their deal with DeRozan while the Clippers were literally en route to his home.
Speaking of which, the Clippers always appeared to be more in the hunt than the Lakers, but some additional details from The Athletic gave us a better idea of just how involved LeBron James and Co. were.
Before adding Russell Westbrook into the picture, DeRozan was very much on the Lakers’ radar, according to the latest from Bill Oram, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick. In fact, DeRozan reportedly sat down for multiple meetings and phone calls with James to discuss a possible pairing. The Athletic went on to note that conversations went so well that DeRozan became convinced he was the franchise’s top target. That is … until he wasn’t.
With four All-Star Games and a pair of appearances on All-NBA teams to his name, the longtime Toronto Raptor who had spent the previous three seasons with San Antonio, emerged from his meetings with that locker room brain trust believing he was their priority and he might soon be playing in the purple and gold.
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Yet as the process unfolded, concerns emerged from DeRozan’s side about a perceived disconnect between the Lakers stars and the front office. Were the opinions being shared in the player meetings the same as the front office’s view? Did the left hand know, in essence, what the right hand was doing?
The Lakers were likely reviewing a handful of different scenarios with a handful of different players (like Westbrook), which probably only added to DeRozan’s’ skepticism. But it does appear the team’s interest in DeRozan went far enough for executive vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinkato to investigate a potential deal.
According to The Athletic, the idea of including two of the Lakers who eventually went to Washington in the Westbrook deal came to mind.
Sources said Pelinka and his front-office group strongly considered executing a sign-and-trade for the 32-year-old DeRozan, giving up Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope in the process, but couldn’t come to consensus terms with the Spurs in free agency or a suitable contract number for DeRozan. What’s more, sources say the DeRozan option never advanced to the point that it was presented to Buss.
So not only was this not enough for Spurs, but it did not seem to be enough for DeRozan. One has to wonder if that is because the franchise and DeRozan already knew about the interest from a team like Chicago, who was open to offering more.
Whatever the case may be, the Bulls walking away this summer with DeRozan feels that much more encouraging. Again, yes, the money and draft capital played a significant role, but they still convinced a highly-coveted free agent to pick them. We have not been able to say that in a long time (or really ever).
Read The Athletic’s full post below:
Before he signed with the Bulls, the Lakers strongly considered executing a sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan met twice with Lakers players at LeBron’s home to discuss the potential fit.
Sources tell @ShamsCharania, @sam_amick and @billoram: https://t.co/1an3A3b7yI pic.twitter.com/T7yCNuBfGM
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) September 28, 2021
