DeMar DeRozan's agent, Aaron Goodwin, worked on a sign-and-trade for his client to end up with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason. The plans, however, were derailed when the Lakers instead acquired Russell Westbrook on a draft day trade.
DeRozan instead went to the Chicago Bulls on a sign-and-trade.
“I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and that we were going to figure it out. I was going to come home,” DeRozan told Yahoo Sports. “The business side of things just didn’t work out. A couple of things didn’t align. It didn’t work out. It’s just part of the business, part of the game. My next option was definitely Chicago. So, looking back at it, it worked out well.
“But there’s always motivation. It may be just to come home and play in front of friends and family, competing against teams you grew up watching. There are all sorts of motivations that you carry and you try to channel that energy into the game. I find that in every game, but definitely coming back to your hometown, you want to play well and you have that motivation to put on a great show.”
The Los Angeles Clippers were also interested in DeRozan, but lacked the ability to realistically acquire him.
“They didn’t have much, but it was a conversation that was brought up and it didn’t get as far as the Lakers’ situation,” DeRozan told Yahoo Sports. “Both L.A. teams were definitely a big possibility for me.”