Kobe Bryant is retiring at the end of the season and the Los Angeles Lakers are looking for another star. They have their eyes set on Kevin Durant but that’s nowhere close to a guarantee so they’re exploring other options. They reportedly are also considering Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan.
The Lakers will have $65 million in cap space and a young building core that includes DeAngelo Russell and Julian Randle. They’ll be looking for an All-Star caliber player to add to the team. They’re interested in DeRozan but it won’t be so easy to get him.
In a recent report, DeRozan is expected to opt out as he is eligible for a new deal that can start at approximately $25.3 million. If that is the case, his hometown team will be one of many teams interested in him according to Ryan Wolfstat of the Toronto Sun:
While his hometown Lakers surely will be one of those suitors — they long have had interest in the swingman — DeRozan has always been fiercely loyal to the organization that drafted him, paid him what at the time was considered above market value on an extension (eventually it became one of the shrewdest bargains of then general manager Bryan Colangelo’s career) and made him the face of the franchise. He loves the city and the fanbase arguably much more than Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter or Chris Bosh ever did.
