Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesDeMar DeRozan isn’t wasting time on “what if” scenarios at this stage of his career.
“Nah, not no more,” DeRozan told Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports when discussing whether he ever thinks about playing for the Los Angeles Lakers franchise he cheered for while growing up. “I don’t think about it anymore, honestly. The opportunity passed. Just move on from it.”
Rohlin noted DeRozan considered the Lakers, among other teams, this past offseason before the Sacramento Kings acquired him via a three-year, $74 million sign-and-trade involving the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
DeRozan also thought he was going to the Lakers via trade in 2021 before the Purple and Gold ended up acquiring Russell Westbrook instead, per Rohlin.
The six-time All-Star suited up for the Bulls for three seasons from 2021-22 through 2023-24 before heading to the Kings this offseason. It seemed to be an ideal scenario, as Sacramento made the playoffs in 2022-23, went 46-36 last season and had Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox on its roster.
However, the Kings are just 13-19 and three games behind the Spurs for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. They also fired head coach Mike Brown and saw their losing streak extend to six with Saturday’s loss to Los Angeles.
By comparison, the Lakers are in fifth place in the Western Conference standings at 18-13, although they too have dealt with some inconsistency at times and may be a step below other top contenders such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and others.
DeRozan has been solid for the Kings and is averaging 20.9 points, 4.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field, but he and his team are surely looking for better play as the season progresses.
And it doesn’t seem like he will be hoping for a trade to the Lakers before the February deadline, either.
Source : Bleacher Report