Lakers News: DeMar DeRozan Reveals He Was Very Close to Joining LA in Free Agency

The six-time All-Star almost played for his native Lakers.

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-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Now-Sacramento Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan, a Compton native and USC Trojans alum, has twice considered suiting up for his hometown Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.

The six-time All-Star first almost played for his native Lakers in 2021, while looking to move on from the San Antonio Spurs. This past summer, before ultimately opting for a different top-heavy, California-based Pacific Division franchise, he and Los Angeles had conversations again. The 35-year-old wound up inking a three-year, $73.9 million deal to join All-Stars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, plus Lakers alums Mike Brown and Malik Monk, up north.

Read More: DeMar DeRozan Considered Lakers in Free Agency Before Signing with Kings

During an interview on former Lakers combo guard Lou Williams' podcast "The Underground Lounge," DeRozan revealed just how close negotiations with L.A. got before team general manager Rob Pelinka pivoted in a disastrously different direction.

"It was almost a done deal before Russ [Westbrook] went there," DeRozan said of his 2021 bid. "It caught me off guard 'cause I didn't more so see the Russ thing happening, because we [were] working towards making it happen. I've spoken on it before. It was close... In my mind I thought it was a done deal."

That summer, DeRozan inked a three-season, $81.9 million deal with the Chicago Bulls via sign-and-trade. His tenure there reminded the league that he was one of the best midrange shooters and overall scorers in the game. Across his three regular seasons in Chicago, the remarkably durable 6-foot-6 wing averaged 25.5 points on .496/.336/.867 shooting splits, 5.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks, while appearing in 76.3 games. Chicago only made it to the playoffs once in those three years, as the club was without significant defensive or frontcourt depth when it mattered most. Now, DeRozan looks to have the same exact problems in Sacramento, albeit with a more efficient offense around him.

Westbrook survived just a year-and-a-half in L.A., and is now hopping from team to team on veteran's minimum deals.

Williams, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, played for L.A. for the 2015-16 season and half of 2016-17. Across 1,123 career regular season contests (122 starts), the 6-foot-2 guard averaged 13.9 points on .419/.351/.842 shooting splits, 3.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.8 steals. He and DeRozan overlapped for one year with the Toronto Raptors, 2014-15.

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