The 20-time All-Star ended his streak of eight straight Finals appearances in the West.
Now-Sacramento Kings small forward DeMar DeRozan has had a somewhat fraught relationship with Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA combo forward LeBron James. Across his past two free agencies, the 6-foot-6 USC product has had flirtations with James' Lakers.
The six-time All-Star swingman spoke with James and Davis about joining his hometown Lakers first in the summer of 2021 after a three-year run with the San Antonio Spurs, before the team ultimately opted to trade for 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook. DeRozan played instead for the Chicago Bulls via an $81.9 million sign-and-trade with the San Antonio Spurs, earning an All-NBA accolade and a pair of All-Star appearances during his three-season tenure there.
"Never to discredit those guys––they won it, they deserve it. I finally had gotten to a point where I was happy for them," DeRozan said of dealing with the Raptors' run to a championship without him.To hear DeRozan tell it, Toronto wasn't particularly far off from championship contention, but even with him aboard could have used a little more role player depth.
"I felt, off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push over the top," DeRozan said. His Raptors were knocked out of the East playoffs by James' Cavaliers during each of his last three seasons in L.A. "I didn’t get an opportunity to see what would’ve happened, but with the utmost confidence within myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened," DeRozan noted.
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