With Klay Thompson moving to the Mavericks, the Lakers are looking to acquire another high-end scorer to bolster their lineup next season.
Los Angeles is currently pursuing free agent DeMar DeRozan. According to a report from The Athletic on Wednesday:.
The Los Angeles native and University of Southern California product is a six-time All-Star who averaged 24 points per game for the Bulls last season.
Though his time in the Windy City is nearly over, the Lakers aren’t the only team interested in acquiring DeRozan.
The Miami Herald and The Athletic reported that the Heat have also expressed interest in signing the forward, with Miami considered the slight favorite to land DeRozan.
The 34-year-old DeRozan has met with the Heat to discuss how he might suit up, and there appears to be mutual interest between the two sides. According to the Miami Herald.
The Heat might have some difficulty acquiring DeRozan, as Miami would likely have to trade a player with a decent salary to a team with cap space, thus freeing up room for Miami to sign with the Bulls and acquire DeRozan.
If the Heat want to go the non-trade route, they could sign him at the taxpayer mid-level exception rate of $5.2 million.
But the Lakers have said they plan to aggressively update their roster.
“We’re always going to be aggressive in trying to strengthen our roster and continue to look at what we can do,” general manager Rob Pelinka told The Athletic. “This season is really about being mindful of anything we can do to strengthen our roster, so we’re in the middle of that right now.”
“This will continue over the next few days and will have ripple effects in Las Vegas, where all of GM is gathered and other deals are being made, but we intend to remain proactive.”
