San Antonio Spurs: Lakers recent trade makes DeRozan to LA unlikely

The San Antonio Spurs star guard probably isn’t heading to the Lakers

One of the many rumors involving the San Antonio Spurs that has been floated around in recent days is the speculation that the Spurs would trade DeMar DeRozan to the Los Angeles Lakers.

DeRozan is a Los Angeles native and one of the few weaknesses in the Lakers last year was their lack of a true third option. That wasn’t a deal-breaker for their title hopes, having two of the top five players in the game can cover almost any weakness. But it remains a point that they were going to have to address this offseason.

DeRozan would fit in well on the Lakers. He’s proven himself to be an elite scoring option time and time again and he’s improved considerably as a playmaker since arriving in San Antonio. It’s easy to see how he would have thrived as a third option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

DeRozan might have fit well with the Lakers but LA likely wouldn’t have been able to put together a compelling enough offer to make it happen. Sorry, but Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma just aren’t doing it for us.

Oklahoma City Thunder take the offer San Antonio Spurs could have had

Lakers guard Danny Green and the No. 28 overall pick have been a focus of the trade discussions for Schroder, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/KOAcjyIked

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 15, 2020

By trading Danny Green and the 28th pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schroder, the Los Angeles Lakers have all but guaranteed that they won’t be acquiring DeRozan. They could still conceivably construct a package centered around Kuzma but I hope for the Spurs’ sake that they don’t take that deal.

Even with the Lakers out of the race, DeRozan remains a prime candidate to be traded before the week is over. The Spurs are reportedly shopping all of their veteran players to other teams around the league and DeRozan seems like the one who would be drawing the most interest.

He could be part of a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors that nets the Spurs Andrew Wiggins, a young wing from Atlanta, and the 2nd overall pick. The New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets are two other teams who could have interest in acquiring the former All-Star.

DeMar DeRozan is still one of the most elite scorers in the game but that doesn’t guarantee that he will be back on the San Antonio Spurs for the ’20-21 season. He’ll be the player to watch as trade discussion continues throughout this week.