DeMar DeRozan has flown under the radar since joining the Spurs, but he could be the perfect new teammate for LeBron James on the Lakers
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The Spurs guard has been rumored to be linked with Los Angeles, his hometown. It should come as no shock that the Lakers want him too.
DeRozan is still an effective player in the NBA. He was averaging a little north of 21 ppg during his time in San Antonio. If he’s put in the correct system, he could elevate a playoff team to title contention. The Lakers already stand as title contenders given LeBron’s resume, but adding a third star wouldn’t hurt their chances.
DeRozan also wants to compete for a championship at this point in his career. If he were to join the Lakers, he’d be in the perfect place to do so.
DeMar DeRozan wants to compete for a championship
(h/t @N_Magaro, @TopBallCoverage)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 26, 2021
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DeRozan was born and raised in the Southern California region. He competed for Compton High School and would attend college at USC in 2008-09.
DeRozan was once looked like the franchise star the Raptors needed to win the NBA championship. He consistently made All-Star teams with Toronto, led them to top finishes in the Eastern Conference, and much more.
However, DeRozan could never take Toronto to the promised land, and as a result, the franchise made the difficult decision of trading him to the Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard. Leonard immediately won an NBA Championship with the Raptors while DeRozan has been middling around in San Antonio.
Los Angeles could definitely use a scorer like him to ease some of the burdens of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Last year, when either of the top two stars in LA went down with an injury, the role players often failed to step up, putting tremendous amounts of pressure on either LeBron or Davis to carry the team.
With DeRozan, who’s also one of the most durable players in the league, they get a third star who can lead the bench unit as well and help LeBron or AD out by reducing their workload.
This NBA offseason could get very interesting given all the big names on the market, but DeRozan is one of those players to watch out for as well as he could have a large impact on a team despite not having the same brand value as other players.