In an occurrence that happens every offseason, some big name free agents have been linked with the Los Angeles Lakers. This time, there’s a fun twist: These players would reunited after previously spending six years together on the same team and earning the reputation of being one of the NBA’s most entertaining friendships.
According to a new report by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, former Toronto Raptors teammates DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry both have some level of interest in suiting up in L.A. That interest is apparently reciprocated by the Lakers’ front office.
Los Angeles is on the verge of a potentially tumultuous offseason, as they’ll need to figure out how to construct a roster around Anthony Davis and LeBron James that is capable of competing for a championship following their first round loss to the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 postseason. A number of members of the team’s rotation — Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, Talen Horton-Tucker, Wesley Matthews, Ben McLemore, Markieff Morris, Dennis Schröder — are free agents, with Montrezl Harrell also slated to hit the market should he decline his $9.7 million player option.
Should they figure out a way to bring at least one of them on board, both DeRozan and Lowry would help the Lakers with the kind of perimeter shot creation — both for themselves and others — that they really need, particularly if Davis or James miss any sort of time. DeRozan is a Los Angeles native, while the team pursued Lowry at the trade deadline.
This does not necessarily mean they’d be acquired via free agency — a sign-and-trade would, theoretically, be another avenue through which either player could be acquired — but every Lakers offseason features them getting linked to some of the biggest names on the market. Whether or not a deal gets done, though, is another story.
