The Los Angeles Lakers have the second worst record in the NBA at 8-31 and although they have some promising young players they really need to make some major changes to their roster. The Lakers were one of the prime destinations for free agents to go just a few years ago and now that Kobe Bryant is retiring the hope is that they can get that aura back. This offseason is a big one for the Lakers and they plan to offer DeMar DeRozan a max contract, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.
DeRozan is technically under contract through next season with the Toronto Raptors but it is a player option worth $10 million and he is fully expected to opt out of that final year. With the salary cap going way up and DeRozan having an All-Star season he will be in for a huge raise this upcoming summer and the Lakers, among other teams, plan to offer him a max deal which starts at about $25 million in the first season.
DeRozan is expected to be one of the most sought after free agents this summer as he is just 26-years-old and he continues to prove he is one of the best scorers in the league. DeRozan has spent his entire seven year career so far in Toronto and has said he does not want to leave in free agency despite opting out. The Raptors likely know that DeRozan will warrant a max contract and odds are they will pay him what he wants but he might feel a little bit tempted by the Lakers.
The main reason why DeRozan might be intrigued by a max contract offer from the Lakers is because they are his hometown team. DeRozan is from Compton, California and attended college at USC where he spent a year before entering the NBA Draft. DeRozan was clearly a fan of staying home back during college and almost every player loves the idea of playing for their hometown team so that is at least something to consider.
Lakers fans shouldn't get their hopes up about signing DeRozan this summer as there is still a lot of time between now and then but their chances have to be as good as anyone's besides Toronto. DeRozan is reportedly an extremely loyal guy which would point to him staying in Toronto but there are a number of different things that could happen to make him change his mind. The Lakers need to make a big splash in free agency this summer and it seems like DeRozan might just be their biggest target. This summer it'll be time for the Lakers to play up the hometown card as much as they possibly can to pry him out of Canada.
