After the departure of eleven-year head coach Andy Enfield, the USC Trojans basketball program quickly moved forward, hiring Eric Musselman away from the Arkansas Razorbacks. In Musselman, the Trojans have a head coach with .704 career winning percentage at the college level who has made two Elite Eight's and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the last four years. But in his first year at USC, Musselman will have his work cut out for him.
There will be plenty of new faces on the USC Trojans roster this season, with 11 transfers coming in, including Desmond Claude (16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists at Xavier), Saint Thomas (19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists at Northern Colorado), Chibuzo Agbo (13.7 points, 5.1 rebounds at Boise State), Terrance Williams II (12.4 points, 4.5 rebounds at Michigan) and Josh Cohen (15.9 points, 6.8 rebounds at UMass). But Eric Musselman is also opening the doors for familiar faces. Guys who once called the Galen Center home are always welcome back at USC.
Before making an appearance at Kendrick Lamar's LA concert on Wednesday night, DeMar DeRozan got some shots up in his old stomping grounds. Though the Compton, California only played one season at USC, it was an impactful one. DeRozan started all 35 games during his freshman season, averaging 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He was named a Pac-10 All-Freshman performer and in leading the Trojans to their first ever Pac-10 Title, he was named the Pac-10 Tournament MVP. DeRozan is one of only seven players who have had their jersey retired by the university.
Could DeMar DeRozan be heading home to LA?
Given DeMar DeRozan's short (but impactful) collegiate career at USC and the love he has for his hometown, an NBA return to Los Angeles seems to always be on the table when it comes to DeMar DeRozan. And DeRozan himself hasn't been shy about his potential desire to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I mean, when I was a kid, everybody knows I’m a Kobe guy at the end of the day. Always been a Kobe guy, been a Laker fan since day one,” DeRozan said back in May on FanDuel TV's Run It Back (h/t Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation). “You can’t never say no about playing at home, especially playing for a historic team like the Lakers. So time will tell, we’ll see where the cards fall. Until then, I’ll see what happens. Always want to be where I’m wanted and I know what I’m gonna do from there, so we’ll see how it plays out.”
The main issue here is money, and the limited amount of it that the Lakers could potentially pay DeRozan this summer if he were to opt out of his contract with the Chicago Bulls and become an unrestricted free agent. As things stand right now, the Lakers would be able to offer DeRozan the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which equates to roughly $13 million annually. This would not only be significantly lower than what the Bulls have been paying DeRozan, but also much lower than his price around the league would be on the open market.
But maybe a chance to play in Los Angeles to close out his career is exactly the opportunity that DeMar DeRozan is looking for.
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