The Toronto Raptors still have work to do in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals against LeBron James‘ Cleveland Cavaliers, but free agency is understandably on the mind of DeMar DeRozan.
Might that have anything to do with his sub-par play? Perhaps, as rumors continue to leak that DeRozan wants to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“He’s made it very, very clear that he wants to be in L.A.,” Smith said of DeRozan’s intentions in free agency. “He has family out there. He’s from out there. He wants to be in L.A. He wants to wear the purple and gold, and if there’s a way for it to happen, again he’s restricted, if there’s a way for it to happen, DeMar DeRozan will be in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform next season.”
Smith of course is a bit hit and miss with his reporting and the fact he suggests DeRozan is a restricted free agent is incorrect. Given that, there’s plenty of reason to dismiss his report as something he pulled out of the air.
That said, DeRozan has a ton of ties to the Los Angeles area and the Lakers have plenty of available money (not to mention the need for a shooting guard/small forward after the Kobe Bryant retirement).
