The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to DeMar DeRozan and Buddy Hield for years and Magic Johnson has now revealed that both men came very close to joining the team once. During an appearance on Speak, Johnson claimed that a trade for DeRozan was done and that the Lakers were going to acquire Hield as well.
“They had the trade done. (Kyle) Kuzma for DeMar,” Johnson said. “And then we were going to get Buddy Hield. That’s all we had to do.”
Johnson, who was president of basketball operations for the Lakers from 2017 to 2019, didn’t specify the year here but it’s safe to assume he was referring to the 2021 offseason. DeRozan, a Compton native, was a free agent at the time and had publicly stated that he would love to play for his hometown team one day.
It was widely reported that the Lakers were interested in DeRozan too, so why didn’t he become a Laker? Well, the answer is Russell Westbrook. The Lakers ended up choosing Westbrook over DeRozan, sending Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson to the Washington Wizards to land him.
That trade ensured there was no realistic way for the DeRozan to become a Laker in 2021. He then decided to join the Chicago Bulls on a three-year deal via a sign-and-trade.
DeRozan thrived during his time with the Bulls, which led to the Lakers being criticized for passing on him. To make matters worse, Westbrook struggled to fit in next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and trading for him remains one of the biggest mistakes the franchise has made in recent history. You do wonder how differently the last few years would have gone for the Lakers had they got DeRozan from the San Antonio Spurs back then.
As for Johnson’s claim about the Lakers getting Hield after landing DeRozan, it is a bit unclear how they would have done that. Former NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski had reported that the franchise was looking to acquire him from the Sacramento Kings for a package that included Kuzma and Harrell.
The Lakers would have had to part with Kuzma for DeRozan, so they would have had to come up with another package that would have interested the Kings to get Hield. Perhaps they did have something interesting to offer but it was never reported as the deal for DeRozan itself didn’t happen.
DeMar DeRozan Thought The Trade To The Lakers Was A Done Deal
DeRozan has spoken about that failed Lakers trade in the past and he was quite surprised that it didn’t go through. During an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast, DeRozan stated he felt the Lakers trade was a done deal.
“To my knowledge, it was a done deal. I remember I took a trip to Mexico to just get away because I could feel the anticipation of everything coming to play. So, I was like, I’m going away for a couple of days, take my mind off it. And by the time I come home, it’s free agency. Hey…signing with the Lakers. I’m sleeping one morning in Mexico, I get a call from Kyle Lowry, and he said, “They just made the trade for Russ (Westbrook). What’s going on? I thought the deal was done for you to go to the Lakers”
“And I am like, I was confused. I’m looking at my phone, damn, that did happen. Well, I guess that’s out of the window. Because in my mind, my only option was to go to. Like I was sold on that. Done deal. I didn’t even entertain anything else because I am letting this situation work itself out. So when I see the trade happen, I knew it was no way for me to go to the Lakers at this point.”
It would have been a bitter pill to swallow for DeRozan that the Lakers chose Westbrook over him. To his credit, he managed to put all that aside and have some of the best years of his career with the Bulls.
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