One of the biggest perceived whiffs of the most recent NBA offseason was the Los Angeles Lakers’ failure to acquire star DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan, who is a Compton, Calif. native, has made it clear that he not only wanted to join the Lakers this past offseason, but that he also fully expected to sign with the team.
Ultimately, however, the Lakers decided to go in a different direction. Since then, fans and experts alike have wondered what the Lakers’ 2021-22 season would have been like had they had DeRozan on the roster.
While the blame to not get the deal done has been placed solely on the lap of the Lakers organization, it appears as though it isn’t all that simple.
One NBA insider believes that San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich would not have made a potential trade between the two teams simple due to his general dislike of the Lakers organization.
“I do think, from what I am told, San Antonio was interested in making a deal,” Brian Windhorst said on his podcast. “But what they wanted and what the Lakers may have wanted may not have — it never got to that point. As you know, Pop doesn’t like the Lakers. I don’t think he was going to make it easy.”
What that means specifically isn’t totally clear. However, it does paint a somewhat different picture than what fans have perceived for much of the season.
Previously, it seemed as though the Lakers had DeRozan in the bag and decided to go in a different direction. Now, it looks as though a trade would have simply cost them too much to get done.
It’s all water under the bridge now. The Lakers made their bed in the offseason, and they have been forced to sleep in it all season long. Currently, they have a 31-47 record and sit in 11th place in the Western Conference.
They’re on the cusp of missing the playoffs. That would be a horrible ending to an already ugly season.
