Lakers News: Bulls’ NBA Draft Dilemma Could Solve Rob Pelinka’s Misery Despite Ending Zach Edey Plans

It’s all Bronny these days when it comes to discussing the Los Angeles Lakers and drafts together. Will Rob Pelinka sign LeBron James’ elder son with either of their picks? In the hassle of it all, it is easy to forget there are other prospects with a higher ceiling than the 19-year-old currently. The Lakers invited one of them – Zach Edey for a workout. They see the Consensus National Player of The Year as a scoring backup to Anthony Davis at the five. However, there is another team who has their eyes set on Edey. Luckily, the Purple and Gold have arrangements made for that too.

The Chicago Bulls have the 11th pick in the upcoming draft, six spaces better than the Lakers. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls have Purdue’s giant as one of their targets with the pick. There is uncertainty because of the availability of several options and the distributed potential of all prospects in the draft. How does this benefit the Lakers? It opens up an avenue to open conversation with at least one Bulls star.

DeMar DeRozan, now 34, is eligible to sign an extension for the coming season. If the Bulls do go for Edey, it could be in hopes of him turning out to be the star pick. If they do, Edey could find himself in the starting lineup with Nikola Vučević being bumped to the four. In this way, the Bulls could refuse to offer a deal to Deebo, opening up a lane to trade. The Lakers have been interested in the mid-range master for the past few seasons. DeRozan too has admitted he was willing to play for the 17-time champions. Maybe this is the moment they unite.

The second scenario sees them use the college superstar as a backup center to Vucevic. Edey’s scoring game doesn’t stretch out to the perimeter. He is a traditional center who uses his gigantic frame and elite footwork to score on the inside. He is also a sound rebounder, averaging over 12 in college. Chicago could prefer him as the backup center over Andre Drummond because of the 22-year-old’s scoring dominance.

The Lakers have been desperate to sign a productive center to play consistently behind Anthony Davis. Drummond could provide the Lakers with key additional possessions as a remarkable rebounding force and be a periodic threat under the basket. The 30-year-old did represent the Purple and Gold during the 2020-21 season. He played 30 games and averaged 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds.

So even if the Lakers don’t fulfill their wish of drafting Zach Edey, it could prove to be a blessing for Rob Pelinka as it augments his chances of signing a ‘third star’ or a problem-solving component to his team.

DeMar DeRozan has wanted to be a Laker

DeRozan has spent three seasons playing for the Chicago Bulls. He has redefined his reputation as a perennial scoring threat even recording 24 points per game in a relatively poor season for the veteran guard. As far as talks of his extension go, there are chances of disagreements between the two parties.

According to Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, the Bulls are expected to retain the technical scorer during the offseason. However, they are open to signing him to a short team deal but with larger financial leverage. DeRozan’s representation demands contract security rather than a higher amount.

If the negotiations do fall through, the doors to an LA arrival finally open for DeRozan. He grew up in the city and has previously mentioned his stance about playing for the team of his idol, Kobe Bryant. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report claims “DeRozan himself hasn’t ruled out signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, who were his favorite team while he grew up in Compton, California”.

Could we finally see him in the Purple and Gold colors? You never know!

But we do know one thing, you’d love to check this video out to understand what Shaq’s ex-agent Leonard Armato has to share about the future of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the WNBA.