LA Lakers Rumors: DeMar DeRozan May Return To Los Angeles This Summer
This summer will probably be an interesting free agency season as Los Angeles Lakers hopes to splurge its huge war chest to acquire prized hardcourt assets to reinvigorate the team's deteriorating gameplay. Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant is clearly on the franchise's shopping list and so is Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan.
Inarguably, DeRozan can lay claim to his obvious ties to the purple and gold team that produced NBA greats like Magic Johnson and the retired phenomenal Kobe Bryant. He graduated from Compton High and even played for USC's basketball collegiate team.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith recently commented that DeRozan is looking forward to head home in free agency.
"He's enjoying his last days in Toronto because he'll be leaving for Los Angeles in a few months anyways," Smith said as quoted in a Fansided report.
While Smith's throwaway comment doesn't sound much like it has any credence, there's no denying of his reliable insider sources in the league. But the Raptors wingman reiterated his allegiance to Toronto where he is carving out his own game.
"My whole mindset has always been this is home for me. I took pride in putting on this Toronto Raptors jersey since I've been drafted here and my whole goal was to get this team to the point where it is now," DeRozan insisted as quoted by Yibada.
Amid the debate over DeRozan's rumored LA homecoming, Corey Hansford offered a more realistic assessment of the situation via Lakers Nation.
"The question now is whether DeRozan would actually leave a Raptors team that finished with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference this year, to join a Lakers team in complete disarray. If the Raptors were to fall in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year, however, the move would seem more plausible."
