With Klay Thompson leaving for the Mavericks, the Lakers are eyeing another top scorer to bolster their lineup for next season.
According to a report from The Athletic on Wednesday, Los Angeles is now trying to sign free agent DeMar DeRozan.
The LA native and USC product is a six-time All-Star and averaged 24 points per game for the Bulls last season.
DeMar DeRozan has interest from the Lakers. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
His time in the Windy City is almost over, but the Lakers aren’t the only team looking to sign DeRozan.
Both the Miami Herald and The Athletic reported that the Heat are also interested in signing the forward, with Miami seen as a slight favorite to land DeRozan.
DeRozan, 34, has spoken to the Heat and discussed what his potential matchup would be, and it appeared there was mutual interest between the two parties, according to the Miami Herald.
There could be some complications if the Heat want to land DeRozan. Miami will likely have to negotiate a trade for a player who earns a high salary to a team with salary cap space. This would give Miami the opportunity to sign DeRozan from the Bulls.
If the Heat wanted to go the non-trade route, they could sign him at the taxpayer rate of $5.2 million.
The Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan attempts to fire a shot past Evan Fournier during a game against the Pistons last season. Getty Images
However, the Lakers have indicated that they want to aggressively revamp the roster.
“I think we’re always going to be aggressive in trying to improve the roster and relentlessly looking at what we can do,” general manager Rob Pelinka said, according to The Athletic. “This is the season where we have to be mindful of all the different things we can do to improve the roster. So we’re in the thick of it as we speak.
“That will continue for the next few days and it often spills over to Vegas where all the GMs meet and make other deals. But we remain aggressive.”
