DeMar DeRozan reportedly chose to sign with the Sacramento Kings over the Miami Heat because of his desire to live on the West Coast. As reported by Shams Charania, living close to his hometown of Los Angeles was important to him. Charania even added that the Lakers, who had been linked to DeRozan, never even made any offer.
“It was really down to the Kings and the Miami Heat from what I’m told as far as DeMar DeRozan’s next home. He really wanted to land in a competitive environment, and also I’m told he wanted to go back West at the end of the day. The Kings pushed the hardest, they pushed the fastest, throughout free agency to get a deal done.”
“They’re a playoff contender, a team that is trying to get to the cusp of being a title contender. I’m told Vivek Ranadive, the Kings owner, really clinched this in their meeting over the weekend in Sacramento…”
“I’m told the Lakers never went beyond expressing simple interest in DeRozan. There were no offers or tangible conversations with the Bulls on a sign-and-trade deal. So this is the second straight free agency that perception-wise… Would DeRozan have had to take less money in free agency, was he going to have to take the mid-level exception to land at a destination?”
“For the second straight free agency, he lands in a sign-and-trade and his last two deals have been a combined five-year, $161 million. That speaks to DeMar DeRozan’s relationships, how he’s known across the league, and the pedigree and respect he has from teams, in this case including the Sacramento Kings, Spurs, and Bulls who contributed to these sign-and-trades.”
https://twitter.com/TheRally/status/1810447063525785950
DeRozan not even being offered a deal by the Lakers is surprising, considering how the Lakers had been linked to him, and the Lakers’ inactivity in the market to bolster their team. But perhaps Rob Pelinka chose not to gut the team in order to land DeRozan.
DeMar DeRozan Could Help The Kings Take The Next Big Step
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive spoke to DeMar DeRozan on camera after his sign-and-trade deal was confirmed by the Suns. Ranadive joked about the other teams that had interest in DeRozan, before claiming those teams were ‘not like us’, a reference to Kendrick Lamar’s now-iconic diss track at Drake, which includes a bar about DeRozan.
“So I know DeMar, everybody wants you. Every team, every city, all the players. But I got one thing to tell you. They’re nothing like us!”
“They’re Nothing Like Us.”
– Vivek Ranadivé to DeMar DeRozan 😅
(h/t @BASKETBALLonX )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 8, 2024
DeMar DeRozan’s signing for the Kings is a statement of intent from the franchise. They have been able to rise through the Western Conference ranks over the last few years, as they assembled a solid roster around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. They made the playoffs for the first time in 16 years in 2023 but got knocked out in the first round by the Warriors.
This season, they made the play-in tournament but were knocked out by the Pelicans. They will be looking to make strides in the stacked Western Conference next year. DeRozan averaged 24.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 79 games last season with the Bulls. He will be a solid third option for the Kings, as they look to return to the playoffs.
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