DeMar DeRozan On Free Agency: "I've Been Fortunate Enough To Make A Lot Of Money, But At This Point, The Ultimate Goal Is To Compete For A Championship"

(via ESPN)

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Throughout this career, DeMar DeRozan has made north of $174 million. That's why it wouldn't be surprising to see him taking a lesser paycheck towards the sunset of his career as long as that means winning an NBA Championship.

DeRozan was the best player on the Toronto Raptors during multiple playoff runs but they could never take a step forward or even play in the NBA Finals. Then, he had to watch his former teammates winning a ring without him, and that must've hurt.

So, now that the former San Antonio Spurs guard isn't likely to come back to the team as a free agent, he recently opened up on his aspirations, claiming that he'd favor winning over getting paid:

 "I've been fortunate enough to make a lot of money, but at this point, the ultimate goal is to compete for a Championship," DeRozan said in a recent interview.

That's similar to what Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported a couple of days ago: 

"DeRozan, who starred at Compton High and USC, has interest in returning home to play for the Lakers, even if it is for less than the $27.7 million he earned last season in San Antonio, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter," read the report.

The word around the league right now is that DeRozan would be willing to take a big pay cut to play for the purple-and-gold, especially if that means teaming up with his best friend Kyle Lowry again.

The Lakers are reportedly set to be quite aggressive in their pursuit of talent in the offseason, but their salary cap situation will make it kind of tricky to land a star unless that player takes a massive discount. But hey, that's the price you have to pay for a ring.