Even with his diminished physical state in his last few seasons, Kobe Bryant still brought an air of star power to the Los Angeles Lakers. That is of course gone now, and another bad season just ended for the team as a whole. The Lakers will have plenty of salary cap space to pursue a big-name free agent, or two, and a native of Southern California is rumored to have interest in signing with them.

During an appearance on SportsCenter, Stephen A. Smith had this to say about the upcoming free agency of Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.

“He’s enjoying his last days in Toronto because he’ll be leaving for Los Angeles in a few months anyways.”

DeRozan is a graduate of Compton High School and he played his lone season of college basketball at USC, so his Los Angeles-area roots are deep. While I’m hesitant to rely on Smith as a source of good information, it’s also hardly a stretch to suggest DeRozan would be willing to come home and play for a team he presumably rooted for as a kid.

DeRozan has become a rising star in recent years for the Raptors, averaging at least 20 points per game in each of the last three seasons and earning two All-Star selections during that time. Toronto has also become a perennial playoff team, even with Saturday’s Game 1 against Indiana hinting at another first-round exit, so leaving for a rebuilding Lakers franchise would be a step down in that regard.

The idea of returning to his hometown might be enough for DeRozan to sign with the Lakers, similar to what LeBron James did by returning to Ohio. But leading the Lakers back to glory would make him a star on a whole different level, and it would be hard for DeRozan to shun that in favor of returning to Toronto or going anywhere else this offseason.