[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-lakers-pass-derozan-pursuit-kuminga-pelinka-roster-chess":82,"category-counts-nav":95,"related-lakers-pass-derozan-pursuit-kuminga-pelinka-roster-chess":105},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":93,"_path":94},"The DeRozan Door Closes: Why pragmatism is beating nostalgia in Los Angeles","lakers-pass-derozan-pursuit-kuminga-pelinka-roster-chess","basketball","Offseason","Chloe Bennett","The Lakers need a wing defender and a backup center. DeMar DeRozan is neither. Rob Pelinka's roster math has no room for sentiment.","2026-07-11 04:05:12","4 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Flakers-pass-derozan-pursuit-kuminga-pelinka-roster-chess.webp",[43],"## The Ghost of 2021\n\nPicture a warm July afternoon in Los Angeles. The kind of day that makes a kid from Compton dream of donning the purple and gold. The Lakers were coming off a disastrous first-round exit. LeBron James was aging. The franchise needed a jolt of star power.\n\nDeMar DeRozan was available. He wanted to be here. The Lakers wanted him. The basketball gods, in their infinite cruelty, had other plans. A trade for Russell Westbrook happened instead.\n\nFive years later, the script got a rewrite nobody asked for. DeRozan hit the open market after the Sacramento Kings waived him. The two sides had explored trade options before the release, but nothing materialized. A mutual agreement to part ways. A quiet ending.\n\nAnd this time, the Lakers did not even pick up the phone.\n\nThe organization, per multiple league sources, is not considered a potential landing spot for the veteran guard. The Southern California native had dialogue with the Lakers in the past. Past tense.\n\n> The Lakers need a wing defender and a backup center. DeRozan is neither.\n\nThis is the cold, un romantic reality of building a contender. The Lakers are looking to make the finishing touches on an incomplete roster. DeRozan is a walking anachronism in the modern NBA, a mid-range artisan in a three-point world. He does not solve the problems that actually matter.\n\n## The Math Problem on Wall Street... er, Woodland Hills\n\nGeneral manager Rob Pelinka is playing chess with half his pieces missing. The Lakers have holes. Specific, glaring, roster-shaping holes.\n\nThey need a **versatile wing defender**. They need a **backup center**. They need players who can survive the playoff crucible against the likes of Denver, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota.\n\nDeRozan is a **six-time All Star**. He is a future Hall of Famer. He averaged **22.2 points** and **4.4 assists** in his final most productive recent seasons. He is also **35 years old**, a defensive liability, and a player whose offensive style does not complement the Lakers' core.\n\nThe Lakers' current construction is built around speed, floor spacing, and defensive versatility around their main stars. Adding DeRozan would be like installing a vintage fireplace in a solar-powered smart home. Charm does not win championships.\n\n## The Kuminga Conundrum\n\nThe real story of the Lakers' offseason is not about who they are not signing. It is about the one player they desperately want.\n\n**Jonathan Kuminga**, the **23-year-old** forward, is the prize. Pelinka has orchestrated a massive overhaul. The roster will look much different for the **2026-27** campaign. Kuminga is the finishing touch.\n\nBut the fit is not easy. Kuminga reportedly isn’t enticed by the current Lakers offer. He wants more. Pelinka has the tall task of maneuvering players, shedding salary, and creating cap space to make the deal work.\n\nThis is where the DeRozan flirtation, even as a rumor, falls apart. Even a minimum-salary deal for a veteran has ripple effects. Every roster spot matters. Every dollar of cap space matters. The Lakers cannot afford a nostalgia trip when the actual target is a high-flying, defensive-minded forward just entering his prime.\n\n## The End of the DeRozan Era\n\nDeMar DeRozan is not done as an NBA player. He remains one of the top free agents of the summer. Another team, perhaps a contender looking for bench scoring, or a young team needing veteran mentorship, will take the chance.\n\nBut the Lakers are not that team.\n\nThe game has changed. The Lakers have changed. The fit was never really there, even in 2021. It was a fantasy born of Bron's presence and a desperate need for another creator.\n\nNow, the Lakers are not desperate. They are calculated. They are specific. They know what they need. DeRozan is not it.\n\n## What's Next\n\nThe summer is not over.\n\nPelinka has limited options. Many free agents are already off the board. The trade market is his only real avenue for the wing defender and backup center. He will have to get creative. He will have to give up something to get something.\n\nThe Lakers are betting on Kuminga. They are betting on the offseason overhaul.\n\nThey are not betting on a homecoming that was never really meant to be. DeRozan's Sacramento tenure ended quietly. His Lakers chapter may never have truly started.\n\nIn Los Angeles this summer, pragmatism is beating nostalgia. The Lakers need a wing defender and a backup center. They know it. DeRozan is neither. The door is closed. The chess match continues.","\u002Farticles\u002Flakers-pass-derozan-pursuit-kuminga-pelinka-roster-chess",[96,85,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104],"analysis","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[106,118,130],{"id":107,"stem":107,"path":108,"title":109,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":110,"author":87,"authorRole":111,"authorInitials":112,"date":113,"readTime":114,"image":115,"imageAlt":109,"tags":116,"excerpt":117},"miles-bridges-trade-delay-mega-deal-maze","\u002Farticles\u002Fmiles-bridges-trade-delay-mega-deal-maze","Miles Bridges Trade Trapped in NBA's Mega-Deal Maze","category","SportPulse Contributor","CB","2026-07-08 03:17:06","7 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fmiles-bridges-trade-delay-mega-deal-maze.png","NBA, Offseason","The delayed Miles Bridges trade reveals a complex multi-team NBA blockbuster still tangled in salary-cap logistics and calendar quirks.",{"id":119,"stem":119,"path":120,"title":121,"category":85,"badge":122,"badgeType":110,"author":123,"authorRole":124,"authorInitials":125,"date":126,"readTime":127,"image":128,"imageAlt":121,"tags":122,"excerpt":129},"alyssa-thomas-death-threats-caitlin-clark-wnba-toxicity","\u002Farticles\u002Falyssa-thomas-death-threats-caitlin-clark-wnba-toxicity","Alyssa Thomas Receives Death Threats After Clark Incident","WNBA","James Chen","Senior Football Analyst","JC","2026-07-01 08:46:40","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fdaed\u002Flive\u002Fcbb4a790-7525-11f1-b8b8-e187759eae96.jpg","Alyssa Thomas revealing death threats and racist abuse exposes a toxic undercurrent in WNBA fandom that the league must urgently confront.",{"id":131,"stem":131,"path":132,"title":133,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":110,"author":87,"authorRole":111,"authorInitials":112,"date":134,"readTime":127,"image":135,"imageAlt":133,"tags":43,"excerpt":136},"kevon-looney-lakers-veteran-minimum-solution","\u002Farticles\u002Fkevon-looney-lakers-veteran-minimum-solution","Looney’s Quiet Return: The Lakers’ Pragmatic Pivot","2026-07-08 04:01:51","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fkevon-looney-lakers-veteran-minimum-solution.png","Kevon Looney signs with LA, offering championship grit and defensive stability behind Walker Kessler."]