Lakers News: LA Has Unwelcome East Competition for DeMar DeRozan

Will the Purple and Gold miss out on a top veteran free agent target yet again?

Jan 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) moves the ball ahead of Los Angeles Lakers forward Taurean Prince (12) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't the only contenders for the services of perhaps the second-best free agent remaining on the open market (aside from L.A.'s own free agent, LeBron James, whose return seems to be only a formality).

According to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, six-time Chicago Bulls All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan is also being courted by the Miami Heat, and has already met with the club about a potential fit. There appears to be mutual interest, but it sounds like the Heat are unwilling to make a major move to acquire his services. The team only has the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth $5.2 million in 2024-25) at its disposal for now, but could make trades to at least get to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Will the Purple and Gold miss out on a top veteran free agent target yet again? Things are looking a bit ominous, as the 6-foot-6 swingman appears reticent to accept even a $12.8 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, when his prolific production seems to warrant a bigger, longer-term deal, despite ominous X-factors like his age (34), lackluster defense, and inconsistent three point shooting (he's a career 29.6 percent long range sniper). Those are real issues, and make him a bit of a challenging fit on a lot of contenders, especially for the money he's probably seeking.

Across 79 games last season, the USC product averaged 24 points on a .480/.333/.853 slash line, 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals a night. He was the best player on the 39-43 Bulls, a No. 9 seed last season which lost its second play-in tournament game to the Heat and missed out on the playoffs entirely.

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