USC Basketball: Free Agent DeMar DeRozan Being Pursued by Legendary NBA Team

Will the former Trojan swap out one all-time franchise for another?

Apr 19, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) passes the basketball against the Miami Heat in the second quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Six-time Chicago Bulls All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan is one of the top free agents remaining on the open market.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the former one-and-done USC Trojans standout is seen as a major target for his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.

Another free agent, L.A. All-Star LeBron James, has apparently expressed an interest in taking a pay cut on what could be a three-season deal paying him up to $162 million and paying him through his age-42 season — provided Lakers team president Rob Pelinka is able to recruit a talented veteran that James himself has earmarked from a reported list of solid candidates.

That list allegedly includes L.A. Clippers point guard James Harden, soon-to-be-Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, soon-to-be-Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Klay Thompson, and DeRozan. Among that group, only DeRozan remains a man without a team, ESPN's Brian Windhorst revealed on his podcast "The Hoop Collective."

Per Fischer, L.A. is indeed interested in bringing DeRozan back to Los Angeles. To accomodate a player of his caliber at even a non-taxpayer mid-level exception, Fischer notes that Los Angeles will probably need to offload a veteran contract for more cap space, perhaps a disappointing 2022-23 point guard like D'Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent.

Last year, DeRozan was his typical productive self for the lowly 39-43 Bulls. He averaged 24 points while slashing .480/.333/.853, 5.3 assists, 4.3 boards, 1.1 steals and 0.6 blocks a night, across 79 bouts.

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