Tag: DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan doesn’t think the Raptors needed Kawhi Leonard to win an NBA title in 2019

DeMar DeRozan thinks Toronto would have won if he was never traded.

While promoting his new book Above the Noise, DeMar DeRozan spoke about the trade that sent him from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs.

DeRozan, who began his career playing for the Raptors, enjoyed tremendous success playing alongside Kyle Lowry in Toronto. But after multiple All-Star appearances and late appearances in the postseason, the front office opted to trade DeRozan in exchange for Kawhi Leonard before the 2018-19 season.

The Raptors went on to win the 2019 NBA Championship, which was their first in franchise history. But on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith asked an interesting question.

Smith argued that at that time in Toronto’s franchise, the only team that the Raptors seemed to struggle against were LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

He wondered if the Raptors would have still won a title in 2019 if they still had DeRozan, not Leonard, as James left the Eastern Conference to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

It seemed DeRozan agreed with the theory, stating the following:

“Never to discredit those guys. They won it. They deserve it. I finally had got to a point where I was happy for them. But for sure. I definitely feel like that. The only person we couldn’t beat was LeBron. That’s just what it was. I felt off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push us over the top. That piece came to be LeBron going to the West and I didn’t get an opportunity to see what would have happened. But the upmost confident in myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened.”

Good for DeRozan to have the confidence in himself to truly believe this.

He is right: The only team that stood in his way was the Cavaliers and with James in the Western Conference on the Lakers that season, this was finally DeRozan’s shot to win it all. Instead, however, it was Leonard who won NBA Finals MVP in 2019.

Of course, it may have been a lot tougher for the Raptors to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers (who were juggernaut that season as well) without Leonard playing.

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Jeff Teague evaluates Bronny James with Lakers, DeMar DeRozan on Kings

DeMar DeRozan on the Kings should be all sorts of fun.

Former NBA veteran Jeff Teague and the guys from ‘Club 520’ react to Bronny James’ NBA summer league games with the Los Angeles Lakers. They also discuss how LeBron James getting to play with his son is going to be like a movie this upcoming season. The guys then react to DeMar DeRozan getting traded to the Sacramento Kings, and debate whether the Kings have what it takes to compete in the Western Conference.

Bronny James has certainly received a ton of media attention for all the obvious reasons, but DeMar DeRozan going to the Kings — which would have been a bigger story in an offseason without Bronny — has gone a little bit under the radar. DeRozan on the Kings gives Sacramento an even more potent offense. If Sacramento is going to be a threat next season, the Kings will likely need to win games 130-125. The Kings are going to be an offense-first, defense-later team. For reasons good and bad, they’re going to be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA.

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Shams: Lakers never made an offer for DeMar DeRozan

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Lakers never expressed any serious interest in acquiring six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan.

Things have been very quiet for the Los Angeles Lakers ever since free agency officially began across the NBA on June 30. They haven’t added any players from other teams to their roster through either free agency or a trade, which has deeply disappointed many fans.

Some fans held out hope that perhaps the Lakers could attract DeMar DeRozan, a veteran forward who has been an amazingly consistent scorer and playmaker for the past decade. A week ago, there was a report that the team did communicate with DeRozan’s agent, but DeRozan ultimately chose to go to the Sacramento Kings.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Lakers never made an actual offer for DeRozan and only expressed “simple interest” in the Los Angeles-area native.

DeRozan is coming off a season in which he averaged 24.0 points and 5.3 assists a game for the Chicago Bulls. He would’ve given L.A. a legitimate third scoring option, especially in crunch time, as well as another legitimate playmaker alongside LeBron James.

Instead, the six-time All-Star will likely take a young and very potent Kings team to the next level as a playoff threat.

Another USC Trojan joins DeMar DeRozan on the Kings

Sacramento Trojans? Jordan McLaughlin joins DeMar DeRozan on the same day,

On Saturday evening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that former USC Trojan Jordan McLaughlin will sign with the Sacramento Kings, joining fellow Trojan DeMar DeRozan. Via Wojnarowski: “Free agent guard Jordan McLaughlin has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, agent Greg Lawrence of @wassbasketball tells ESPN.”

McLaughlin, 28, has spent all five of his NBA seasons to date with the Timberwolves, providing backcourt depth.

The former USC standout averaged 3.5 points and 2 assists in 11.2 minutes per game across 56 appearances last season.

In his career, he has averaged 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest while shooting 44.6% from the field and 36.9% from 3-point range in 242 regular season games. McLaughlin has had some very good role-player moments in his career, but he hasn’t been a relentlessly productive player. With the Timberwolves reaching the NBA Western Conference finals last season, they are clearly intent on making upgrades to their roster. McLaughlin should get backup-level minutes in Sacramento. He will give the Kings a floor leader who can play defense.

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Sacramento Kings land DeMar DeRozan in sign and trade

DeMar DeRozan gets out of Chicago and won’t be on a rebuilding team in 2025.

The Sacramento Kings have acquired free agent guard DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls in a three-year, $74 million sign-and-trade deal, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps reported on Saturday.

DeRozan — a six-time All-Star who will turn 35 next month — averaged 24 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists this past season for the Chicago Bulls, where he averaged a league-high 37.8 minutes played per game.

Compton (California) native DeMar DeRozan was selected out of USC by the Toronto Raptors with the ninth overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft. He spent the first nine seasons of his career in Toronto, where he was named an All-Star four times (2014, 2016-2018).

He spent three seasons in San Antonio and another three seasons in Chicago, where he picked up two more All-Star nods (2022, 2023).

San Antonio will receive Harrison Barnes in this sign and trade package, while Chicago will get Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash. In addition, the Spurs will get an unprotected pick swap from Sacramento in 2031.

DeRozan gets a fresh start in Sacramento with the Bulls in full rebuilding mode. We will have much more to say about DeMar’s new NBA home in the coming days.

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Kings fans gave DeMar DeRozan a loud ovation over Not Like Us in his first visit after joining Sacramento

DeRoz came home (or close enough), and Kings fans showed him big love.

DeMar DeRozan definitely knew his deal with the Sacramento Kings was close to being completed before the rest of us, because he just so happened to be attending an otherwise meaningless Sac Summer League game just minutes after it was reported he was heading West.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps reported Saturday night the completion of a three-team deal that moved DeRozan to Sacramento in a sign-and-trade from the Chicago Bulls, a deal that also sent Harrison Barnes from Sacramento to the San Antonio Spurs.

And minutes after that report, DeRozan showed up for his new team’s California Classic game against China and received a loud standing ovation from the home crowd.

Not lost on anyone is the song playing in the background; Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. DeRozan, of course, is mentioned in the song when Lamar says “I’m glad DeRoz came home.” DeRozan joined Lamar on stage when he performed the song five straight times at The Pop Out concert, and he made a cameo in the music video that debuted Thursday.

Sacramento isn’t exactly DeRozan’s native Los Angeles, but it’s close enough.

Social media reacts to Chicago trading DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento: ‘Light The Beam’

After years of trade rumors, DeMar DeRozan will finally leave Chicago and play for the Sacramento Kings. Take a look at the initial reaction to DeRozan’s trade.

After years of trade rumors, DeMar DeRozan will finally leave Chicago and play for the Sacramento Kings.

Take a look at the initial reaction to DeRozan’s trade.

Spurs acquire Harrison Barnes as part of DeMar DeRozan-Kings deal

The San Antonio Spurs will acquire Harrison Barnes from the Sacramento Kings in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade deal.

The Sacramento Kings have swung a big deal in free agency by acquiring former San Antonio Spurs star DeMar DeRozan. After spending three seasons with the Chicago Bulls, DeRozan will sign with the Kings.

It will be a 3-team sign-and-trade deal with the Kings sending Harrison Barnes to the Spurs in the deal. Barnes averaged 12.2 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 38.7% from deep in the 2023-24 season with the Kings.

Barnes brings an ability to shoot the ball to San Antonio and will help space the floor for Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama on the offensive end. This is a nice addition on paper for the Spurs.

Barnes also brings a ton of experience. He won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015 and helped the Kings get back to the playoffs in 2023. He will be looking to help the Spurs get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

Is a major trade for the San Antonio Spurs about to go down?

We are hearing rumbles about San Antonio having interest in Lauri Markkanen, or perhaps a reunion with DeMar DeRozan.

Is a major trade for the San Antonio Spurs about to go down? Even before the Spurs had traded away their No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA draft’s lottery, there had been some speculation that the Spurs’ front office might look to trade for an established player or two in order to jump-start San Antonio’s rebuild for Victor Wembanyama.

Now, we are hearing rumbles about San Antonio having interest in trading for star Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen, or perhaps a sign-and-trade reunion with Chicago Bulls veteran wing DeMar DeRozan. Is there a chance either of these deals actually materializes soon — or one like them?

The folks behind the “TSR Sports” YouTube channel recently took some time to dive into these rumors, assess their plausibility, and shared their thoughts on if they actually want such rumors to be true. Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say.

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Chicago paper report adds to belief USC’s DeMar DeRozan, Bulls will divorce

Will DeMar DeRozan come to the Lakers? The drama builds.

Six-time NBA All-Star Demar DeRozan, one of the best basketball players USC has ever produced, is likely to leave the Chicago Bulls. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the trade that brought Josh Giddey to Chicago was the “final straw” for DeRozan.

“A source told the Sun-Times late Sunday night that the Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey trade was the final straw in DeRozan’s mind for any sort of return, as the 34-year-old will now use his free agency to shop elsewhere,” Cowley reported.

The Bulls’ front office and head coach Billy Donovan have been happy with DeRozan over the last few years. General manager Arturas Karnisovas said about the shooting guard that “DeMar’s been great for us for three years. He’s been invested in the city of Chicago and has been really great to our young guys. So both sides are interested in continuing.”

Yet, the Bulls’ moves paint a different picture.

DeRozan, a USC Trojan and Compton native, will likely want to go home to L.A. to play for the Lakers or Clippers. He deserves to be in a winning situation competing for a NBA title. The Bulls, at this stage of their rebuilding, unfortunately can’t provide that for him.

The Lakers’ interest is genuine, and the Bulls are open to sign-and-trade possibilities, sources indicated. However, any sign-and-trade would have to be for at least three years and at less annual salary than what DeRozan wants. We shall see where he lands, but my best bet is he’ll take less to play for a contender like the Lakers. My sleeper pick would be the Miami Heat.

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