3 Lakers Trade Targets to Avoid at All Costs

DeMar DeRozan

The Los Angeles native has long been linked to the Lakers and he is hitting free agency. He will once again be on the radar for GM Rob Pelinka. The Lakers don't have any cap space to sign him outright, so they would need to engineer a sign-and-trade scenario to get him. That would be a terrible idea.

First of all, DeRozan is 34 years old and is on the decline. He takes good care of his body and doesn't get hurt too often so he is still playing at a high level. But, he just shot his lowest field-goal percentage in six seasons in the 2023-24 season and failed to make the All-Star team.

DeRozan's best days are behind him and giving him a multi-year deal will likely not age well. The Lakers are already an old team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and they don't need another aging star on the wrong side of 30s.

Secondly, DeRozan is just a bad basketball fit for the Lakers. The six-time All-Star is not a threat behind the three-point line, making him not an ideal off-ball option. He needs the ball in his hands to be effective and taking the ball from LeBron's hands to give it to DeRozan is not the best idea. Plus, the Lakers already lack spacing, adding another perimeter non-shooter in DeRozan will only make things worse.

Plus, DeRozan comes with serious postseason concerns. He is a poor defender and due to the spacing issues he creates, he has never been on serious championship contenders. The Toronto Raptors teams from 2015-18 were solid regular-season teams but LeBron James knows all too well what he did to those teams in the playoffs when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.