The LA Clippers improved on the margins this past offseason, re-signing veterans Kawhi Leonard, Nicolas Batum, and Reggie Jackson while adding new role players like Justise Winslow and Eric Bledsoe. According to DeMar DeRozan, joining the Clippers instead of the Chicago Bulls was a very realistic possibility.

DeRozan joined Serge Ibaka‘s YouTube show, ‘How Hungry Are You?' this past offseason, and the episode was finally released on Wednesday. In the episode, DeRozan says joining the LA Clippers in free agency was a very realistic possibility.

Here's the conversation exchange between Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan

Serge Ibaka: “The Clippers were on their way to meet you to sign. And then I heard you canceled the meeting and you signed with the Chicago Bulls. What happened bro? Before you answer the question, the last 2 years, you was the one, you be saying, I wanna come back home to play.”

DeMar DeRozan: “Nothing but respect for Lawrence Frank and the entire Clippers organization. Great peoiple. It definitely was an opportunity that presented itself. I think for me, the Chicago thing just took off by the time they was on their way to my house. It was a situation, I just didn't… I didn't pass it up.”

Serge Ibaka: “This happened when they were on their way to meet you?”

DeMar DeRozan: “It really happened that way. It could've been a day earlier, it would've worked.”

Serge Ibaka: “Also, it's my team too, so I would've been playing with you.”

DeMar DeRozan: “I know. We would've been teammates again. It was a real possibility. It really was a real possibility, but we got the deal done with Chicago.”

Serge Ibaka: “Money talks.”

DeMar DeRozan: “I mean, everything talks. The whole dynamic of the team and the opportunity. I talked with Paul George. I had talked to PG about it, and we was really talking about it, you know? We was really trying to figure it out to make it happen, but what needed to be figured out didn't get figured out for it to happen.”

Serge Ibaka: “Are you cappin' me right now?”

DeMar DeRozan: “No, I'm being dead serious. No bullshit. I haven't even talked about it, but it was a real possibility. Literally on their way, I had talked to Lawrence Frank the day before and was like excited to meet with you and everything.

Serge Ibaka: “When you say you're gonna meet with them, it's like to sign or to talk first.”

DeMar DeRozan: “To talk.”

Serge Ibaka: “Ahh, to talk first, so nothing guaranteed.”

DeMar DeRozan: “No, it was let's talk and see how we can make this thing work. Obviously, it was mutual interest. It's like, how can this thing work? How can this thing work? It would've had to be a pay cut.”

Serge Ibaka: “You was willing to get less money?”

DeMar DeRozan: “Yeah, but less money is not like a big pay cut. Less money and a pay cut is two different things.”

In the end, DeMar DeRozan ended up signing with the Chicago Bulls on a three-year, $82 million deal. The deal was more than any Los Angeles team, but especially the Clippers, could offer a player of DeRozan's caliber.

DeRozan's incredible level of play this season all but confirms he shouldn't have taken a pay cut this past free agency. In his 13th NBA season at age 32, DeMar DeRozan is averaging a career-high 28.0 points per game, while chipping in 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game on 50.9 percent shooting from the field and a career-high 35.7 percent from three.

He's easily been a top five MVP candidate this season, although it looks like it's a legitimate two-man race with Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.

The Clippers did well for themselves, building a winning record this far into the season with Kawhi Leonard having played zero games, Paul George having played 26, and newly-acquired guard Norman Powell playing just three games. Fans, however, still marvel at the thought of pairing Leonard, George, and DeRozan together to create a monster Big Three that's sure to wreak havoc on the rest of the Western Conference if healthy.

The Clippers will travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Thursday, March 31st. That's where DeMar DeRozan will have a chance to show his hometown team exactly what they missed out on.

DeMar DeRozan is signed for this season and the following two seasons. He's set to hit free agency in the summer of 2024, when the Clippers are also set to open up their brand new stadium, the Intuit Dome, in Inglewood.

DeRozan has long said he wants to come back home to Los Angeles to play basketball before it's all said and done. It's possible that, down the line, the two sides could reawaken their previous interest and talk about a possible deal again.

You can watch the full episode of Serge Ibaka's “How Hungry Are You?” below: