DeMar DeRozan is back on the market. The Sacramento Kings waived the veteran guard on Monday, and with a Southern California native suddenly available, the rumor mill naturally churned toward the Lakers. But anyone hoping to see DeRozan in purple and gold can probably move on.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin dropped the news pretty plainly. Multiple league sources told him the Lakers are not considered a serious landing spot for the 35-year-old. Sure, there’s history there. DeRozan and the Lakers have talked before, most notably back in 2021 when he nearly signed with them before the team went in a different direction. But that was then. This is now.
And now the Lakers have a different roster, a different payroll situation, and a different set of needs.
Why the fit doesn’t work
DeRozan is still a reliable bucket from the midrange. He averaged 22.3 points in his lone season with the Kings and can clearly still get his shot off against most defenders. But what the Lakers actually need right now isn’t more scoring from the mid-post. It’s athleticism on the wing. It’s size on the perimeter. It’s guys who can switch on defense and hit an open three when Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves kicks it out to them.
DeRozan does none of those things particularly well at this stage. He’s a ball-dominant scorer who doesn’t stretch the floor. Pairing him with Doncic creates the same kind of overlap that already made Russell Westbrook a disaster in Los Angeles. The spacing gets tight. The defense gets worse. And the Lakers have already spent this offseason reshaping the roster around Doncic and Reaves, trading for and extending Utah’s Walker Kessler, signing Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, and a few others. They’ve added shooting and playmaking. What they haven’t added is length and defensive versatility.
The general consensus around the league is that the Lakers still need one or two more switchable wings who can guard multiple positions and knock down open looks. DeRozan just doesn’t fit that profile.
What’s next for Los Angeles
So if it’s not DeRozan, who is it? The name floating around most lately is Jonathan Kuminga. The former lottery pick is still young, still explosive, and still exactly the kind of long, athletic forward the Lakers are reportedly targeting. Whether Golden State would actually move him is another question entirely. But the Lakers have picks to trade and contracts to match. It’s a storyline worth watching.
For now, though, the Lakers are out on DeRozan. Again. Maybe that changes if the price drops or if the roster takes another hit between now and the trade deadline. But according to everyone who actually covers the team closely, this one just isn’t happening.
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