Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[omahen]

I’ve been thinking about DeRozan.  He’s an obvious TDL trade candidate because of the UFA status this summer playing for a team going nowhere.  That is the kind of move Dallas has made in the past.  The interesting thing is Dallas and Chicago can both stay below the tax if the deal is THJ/Holmes or THJ/Maxi.  Neither is ideal for Chicago since they aren’t expiring.  The cost of such a trade is usually a protected first, but our first available pick is fairly distant.

Even if Chicago was willing to do that and we made the best offer, is DeRozan really what we need?  He’d certainly add to our scoring punch, but we seem quite capable of scoring right now.  He doesn’t shoot 3’s well.  But, my main concern is it takes a special kind of star to play with Luka.  Capable in the moments said star is needed, but ego-less in those moments Luka wants to dominate.  Irving appears to be pretty good at this, but what does that dynamic look like if we add a third score-first type?  I think adding a bigger name will be tricky not only from an asset standpoint, but from a fit standpoint.

Imho, DeRozan is probably the opposite of what Luka/Kyrie Mavs need. The potential target should imho be either one of expiring Toronto wings, although Anunoby could probably fit in nicer than Siakam.

If Chicago blows it up, the interesting name to watch could be Caruso.