NBA Rumors: DeMar DeRozan Eyed Warriors, 76ers, Heat and Spurs Before Kings Trade

DeMar DeRozan will look to elevate the Sacramento Kings to another level during the upcoming season after they acquired him from the Chicago Bulls via a sign-and-trade this offseason, but he reportedly explored a number of other options as well.

Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported Friday that DeRozan looked into possibly joining the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs as he looked for "a market value deal" this offseason.

Yet he grew "more fond of the Sacramento idea as time went on. His longtime agent, Aaron Goodwin, flew with him from his hometown in Los Angeles to Sacramento, then drove him around the city and suburbs to give him a sense of what the area had to offer."

DeRozan ended up with a three-year, $73.9 million deal with the sign-and-trade and will be counted on as a veteran leader for a Kings team looking to make noise in the loaded Western Conference.

"I feel like that's what we need more," Domantas Sabonis said of DeRozan. "We need more vets around. We're kind of a young team. Really good players, but at the same time, it never hurts to have a Hall of Famer on your team. I've always wanted one of these big-time NBA players on the team for confidence, for backup, for everything."

Amick and Slater noted Sabonis and DeRozan worked together during the offseason with the latter sharing some plays he used with Andre Drummond when he was with the Bulls.

"He tells you one way and you're like, 'Wow, he's picked (Carmelo Anthony)'s brain, Kobe's brain, everyone's,'" Sabonis said.

Sacramento broke a playoff drought that dated back to 2006 during the 2022-23 campaign but then lost in the play-in tournament last season.

But expectations are now higher with the combination of Sabonis, DeRozan and De'Aaron Fox surrounded by quality role players such as Keegan Murray and a healthy Malik Monk. It won't be easy in the Western Conference, but anything less than a playoff run would be a disappointment.

The same can be said for those other teams DeRozan explored, as the 76ers and Heat are looking to be threats in the Eastern Conference. DeRozan could have teamed up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia or Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in Miami and formed quite the Big Three at either location.

Golden State would have meant plenty of space to operate given the defensive attention Stephen Curry draws, and San Antonio would have meant going back to a Spurs team he played for from 2018-19 through 2020-21.

It also would have meant pairing up with Victor Wembanyama, which would have been a troubling notion for the rest of the Western Conference.

However, DeRozan ended up on the Kings and will be a veteran leader as they chase a playoff spot in 2024-25.