It seems only a matter of time until the Chicago Bulls finally blow it up. One team poised to pounce once Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls' front office officially hit the reset button, making marquee players available via trade? The Los Angeles Lakers.

Former All-Star Zach LaVine isn't the only Chicago stalwart rumored to be a potential target of the purple-and-gold, though. The Lakers reportedly covet DeMar DeRozan more than LaVine, among the main reasons why they've emerged as favorites to land the Southern California native should the Bulls play seller.

Los Angeles is at +350 odds to be DeRozan's next team post-trade deadline if he's not still in Chicago, per Bovada. Those are the third-highest odds behind the Miami Heat's at +200 and Philadelphia 76ers' at +250.

DeMar DeRozan's potential fit with Lakers

DeMar DeRozan with the Bulls arena in the background

Speculation has run rampant regarding LaVine and the Lakers since news broke in mid-November that the Bulls were open to finding a trade for him. Indeed, Chicago still reportedly plans to move LaVine before shaking up the roster further, a possible obstacle to DeRozan finding his way to Los Angeles.

Any notion the Bulls would want to retain DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Nikola Vucevic, among other incumbents, after trading LaVine seems irrational, though. They'd surely be getting draft compensation and a valuable young prospect in exchange for LaVine, marking the beginning of what should be a full-scale teardown in the Windy City.

DeRozan is a free agent this summer anyway. Given his palpable recent frustration amid Chicago's struggles, is it really feasible he'd re-sign with the Bulls? Perhaps a better question: Why would Chicago want to bring a 34-year-old, defense-averse, low-volume three-point shooting forward back in the first place?

Those long-held traits of DeRozan's game would present problems anywhere, but especially for a team with no ambitions of winning now. That distinction certainly doesn't apply to the Lakers, led by a 38-year-old LeBron James and ever-fragile Anthony Davis who still have the makings of a tandem good enough to lead their team to a championship.

But that won't happen without the right supporting cast in place, and the first month of the regular season has laid bare just how much Los Angeles could use some extra offensive firepower. The Lakers' 110.5 offensive rating ranks 25th in the league, per NBA.com/stats. Adding DeRozan would surely juice that number, but hardly address their biggest weakness around James and Davis: A lack of reliable three-point shooting.

Though DeRozan's usage has declined over the past couple seasons, it's undeniable that he's best with the ball in his hands, just like James. Given his well-known defensive shortcomings as well, would bringing in DeRozan really be the best allocation of Los Angeles' limited trade assets?

There's a chance Darvin Ham would eventually be forced to admit that his team would be at its best with DeRozan coming off the bench, his minutes largely split from James', just like Russell Westbrook's before his doomed tenure with the Lakers ended last February. Rob Pelinka and the front office wouldn't be able to put together the matching salary needed to trade for DeRozan until D'Angelo Russell becomes available on January 15th, either, and even might have to involve a third team.

Los Angeles definitely needs an upgrade to legitimately compete at the top of the Western Conference this season and DeRozan probably wouldn't mind returning home. James and Davis, remember, met with him in the summer of 2021 before the Lakers swung a disastrous trade for Westbrook. All three stars would likely be onboard with DeRozan joining his hometown team.

But DeRozan's two-way fit in Los Angeles would be much less than seamless, a reality that combined with his expiring contract could be driving factors behind him ultimately landing elsewhere once his time in Chicago is finished.