The Lakers will have to thread the needle if they were to bring DeMar DeRozan in via a sign-and-trade.

The pressure is always on for the Los Angeles Lakers to surround LeBron James and Anthony Davis with as much talent as possible in their bid to win the franchise’s 18th championship. Pursuing quality free agents was supposed to be one of the Lakers’ courses of action, with Klay Thompson being the team’s primary target. However, on Monday, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors for Thompson, leaving the Lakers in a difficult position.

Even with Thompson on the board, however, there is still a former All-Star left in the market who could be of immense help for the Lakers’ contending aspirations in DeMar DeRozan. While DeRozan may not be the best shooter in the world, he is a pure scorer who can get buckets from the midrange; he averaged 24 points and 5.3 assists on 48 percent shooting for the Bulls this past season.

With DeRozan reportedly looking at the Bulls’ Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey trade as the straw that broke the camel’s back with regards to his stay in the Windy City, it appears as though the veteran guard will be starting next season on a new team. The Lakers could represent an opportunity for DeRozan to play somewhere closer to home as well as a chance to compete alongside two of the best established stars in the association.

However, the Lakers’ cap situation means that DeRozan would either have to sign for the mid-level exception, necessitating a huge pay cut from the $28.6 million he made last season, or that the Bulls would have to agree to a sign-and-trade to help give DeRozan a longer-term contract that would pay him more closely to what he’s worth on the market.

With that said, here should be the Lakers’ offer to the Bulls as they look to acquire DeMar DeRozan via a sign-and-trade.

Lakers take advantage of the Bulls’ lack of leverage

Lakers sign DeMar DeRozan to a three-year, $80 million deal 

Bulls receive: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Maxwell Lewis, two second-round picks

There remains a bit of uncertainty with regards to the contract LeBron James is going to sign with the Lakers. For the Lakers to be able to pull off a sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan, they must remain under the first tax apron threshold of $178.13 million. As things stand, the Lakers will blow past that mark if they re-sign James to his maximum deal that’s worth around $50 million for next season, which would then make it impossible under the CBA to acquire DeRozan.

Using the full non-taxpayer MLE worth around $12.9 million would also require the Lakers to stay underneath that first tax apron. Thus, pulling off a trade is a necessary condition for the Lakers to be legally allowed to bring in DeRozan.

While the Lakers will prefer to keep Rui Hachimura, it’s not possible for the Lakers to stay under the first tax apron if they decide to keep him while bringing DeRozan in, giving James his max contract, and then filling the 14-man roster minimum. The Lakers have yet to sign rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James still, which would further add to the team’s cap sheet.

Thus, the Lakers will have to deal away Hachimura in this trade since he’s making $17 million; while he provides a nice scoring punch on the wing and he could defend bigger players in the post, trading his salary away provides the path of least resistance. They could decide to trade Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt instead of relinquishing Hachimura, but Hachimura’s offense won’t be needed as much anyway if the Purple and Gold were to bring in DeRozan.

With D’Angelo Russell on the way out, the Lakers will need a solid backup point guard. Gabe Vincent’s first year in a Lakers uniform did not go according to plan, but he’s still a solid 3-and-D point guard with strong playoff experience. If the Lakers still need to create more space, they could always decide to trade Christian Wood and his $3.0 million salary away, although trading Vincent will make it way easier for them to breathe under the first tax apron.

The Bulls will be fighting hard for the inclusion of Jalen Hood-Schifino, and giving up on the 17th pick of the 2023 would also ease the Lakers’ cap burden. However, it won’t be the smartest idea to give up on a first-rounder after just one year. Instead, the Lakers will be trading away Maxwell Lewis, a second-rounder from last year’s draft, to at least give the Bulls a youngster in return.