The Los Angeles Lakers have been horrendous this season. Before the season started, there was a lot of excitement about what this Lakers’ squad could do. The Lakers spent the offseason recruiting veteran players on team-friendly deals, expecting them to still contribute at a high level. But that has not happened. And it turns out, the Lakers could have had one of the best players this season.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports recently confirmed a report from Ramona Shelburne that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers front office wanted to sign DeMar DeRozan, but passed on him because they were hesitant to sign him to a 3-year deal, something that is required in any sign-and-trade deal.
I am just relaying what Chris Haynes said and confirmed with the speakers in the spaces. I know some of y’all have agendas and shit, but I’m just sharing what 1k+ people in this space have heard.
— Dom (@Dom__) March 16, 2022
https://twitter.com/vkillem/status/1503985623442460673
Chris Haynes just confirmed that LeBron and the FO wanted Demar first, but the FO not wanting to give Demar a 3 year deal (to open up space in 2023) made them pivot to Russ instead…
This news does not reflect well on the Lakers front office. Given how DeRozan has revitalized his career with the Chicago Bulls, and how Russ has played for the Lakers, one has to imagine where the Lakers would be if they had pulled the trigger on the deal for DeRozan rather than Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers have been very poor this year, whereas DeRozan has been able to help lead the Chicago Bulls to a respectable record this season. DeRozan’s performances over the course of the season even garnered him considerations for MVP. And the fact that DeRozan wanted to go to the Lakers makes all this an even more bitter pill to swallow for LA fans.
The Lakers front office will have a lot of work in the upcoming offseason to fix the mess they’ve created. The season isn’t over, and the Lakers could turn around and make a run in the playoffs. But given what the Lakers have shown us this season, that seems unlikely. This offseason will go down as one of the worst for the Lakers if things continue to play out the way they have.
