Report: Lakers 'aren't that high' on DeMar DeRozan

The interest from the Los Angeles Lakers in soon-to-be unrestricted free agent DeMar DeRozan may not be as strong as many have initially assumed.

Numerous reports have linked the All-Star guard to his hometown team, with the Lakers reportedly looking to offer the 26-year-old swingman a max contract.

During a recent appearance on "Bleacher Report Radio," Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding hinted that the Lakers may not be prepared to make the Toronto Raptors' leading scorer a priority this summer.

"There's a lot of presumption about DeRozan and I'm told the Lakers aren't that high on him," Ding said during his appearance on Sunday.

DeRozan recently indicated during his end-of-season news conference on Saturday that re-signing with the Raptors is something he'd very much like to do, and that any rumors concerning him and the Lakers are complete fabrications.

"I grew up in L.A. That's my home," DeRozan said. "There's not a part of L.A. I haven't seen. I don't get caught up into it. I let whoever comes up with that say that they want to say. Only thing appealing to me is the things I've done in this organization and the things that can be done here. And that's always been my mindset."

DeRozan has spent the first seven years of his career playing basketball north of the border for the Raptors. He ranks third in franchise history in games played (521), second in points (9,436), and fifth in steals (492).

Toronto's season came to an end on Friday night at Air Canada Centre in a Game 6 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals - the franchise's longest postseason run ever. DeRozan averaged a team-high 20.9 points in the 20 games, but was horribly inefficient shooting the rock, connecting on only 39.4 percent of his field-goal attempts and just 15.4 percent from 3-point range.

The Raptors can offer DeRozan a fifth year on his new contract, which the Lakers cannot. Los Angeles also has a lot invested in the backcourt of D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, and while DeRozan would act as an immediate upgrade, perhaps the Lakers feel they can spend their money more wisely at different positions, and roll with the young duo for the time being.