The Los Angeles Lakers officially fell out of contention for the play-in tournament following their latest loss against the Phoenix Suns. The team has no chance of making the postseason now and the focus is firmly on how they try to recover from what can only be described as a disastrous campaign for what is arguably the NBA’s biggest franchise.
The way things have played out has been caused by several factors, not the least of which is the fact that the Lakers failed to construct their roster in an ideal fashion. The move to get Russell Westbrook proved to be a massive swing and a miss, and LeBron James has been called out by Magic Johnson for being the one that made it happen over a deal for DeMar DeRozan.
And while Magic suggested that DeRozan wanted to be a Laker going so far as to say that his agent called him, recent reports suggest that DeMar wasn’t so keen on joining the team after all. Ohm Youngmisuk has reported using a source from DeRozan’s camp that the Bulls star felt that the Lakers lacked some vision (via Lakers Daily).
“I talked to someone from DeRozan’s camp,” Ohm Youngmisuk said. “When DeRozan was in town in L.A., and he basically stuck it to the Lakers. The impression that I got from his camp was that DeRozan felt that the Lakers were in sort of disarray. They didn’t really have a vision. They didn’t know what they were doing.”
This is an interesting report, as DeMar himself said earlier in the season that he thought joining the Lakers was a ‘done deal’ for him before it fell through. In any case, considering the success he has enjoyed with the Bulls and the fact that the Lakers are now out of playoff contention, it’s unlikely to be something DeRozan looks back at with too much regret.
