The Los Angeles Lakers had a busy NBA offseason. They revamped their entire roster, with 12 new faces for this season that wasn’t on the team at the time they were eliminated from the postseason by the Phoenix Suns.
Some of the faces are familiar, as they have been with the organization previously. It has been a while, but Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, and Kent Bazemore have all played with the franchise before.
Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, and Avery Bradley are making a return after a one-season hiatus. All three were on the roster when the Lakers won the NBA Championship in the Orlando Bubble in 2020. Rondo and Howard both participated in the games while Bradley opted out of the restart.
The biggest acquisition this offseason, however, was Russell Westbrook. Los Angeles acquired him from the Washington Wizards after he mentioned that he would like to return home to the west coast if it was possible.
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The Wizards obliged, and the Lakers’ offseason plans were altered drastically. The trade talks they had with the Sacramento Kings centered around Buddy Hield were called off but the trade rumors were spreading fast around the NBA. Another homecoming was also stalled in the process.
DeMar DeRozan was considering joining the Lakers and returning home as well. Ultimately, he ended up landing with the Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade from the San Antonio Spurs, but the Lakers were a real possibility.
“Yeah, I mean, it was, it was a real possibility. I mean, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I wanted to come home, you know? I did try to make it happen. There’s a real possibility of it happening. You know, just things didn’t work out, you know what I mean?”
It would have been interesting to see how the Los Angeles Lakers could have acquired and fit DeMar DeRozan onto the roster. They likely would have used a similar package to the one they sent to the Wizards and offered the Kings to land the Compton native and former USC collegiate standout.
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DeMar DeRozan is a consistent performer, averaging over 20 points per game for eight consecutive seasons. He has also developed into an excellent point-forward, running a lot of the offense for the San Antonio Spurs in recent seasons from the power forward position.
