There are plenty of players in the NBA that hail from Southern California. The LA Clippers employed four of them this past season in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
Between Los Angeles, San Diego and everywhere in between, there is an incredible amount of athletic talent in SoCal, so it is far from surprising that a few of these guys end up making it as far as the NBA in their basketball careers. Once again, this coming season, Kawhi and Harden will be two of the Clippers' most important players.
Beyond their obvious on-court production, there is also a certain endearing quality of having these guys on LA's roster. Seeing players compete for the team that grew up in the same places and that understand the same cultural aspects as the fanbase makes it that much easier to cheer for them.
Over the summer, we heard rumors of another Southern California native being connected to the Clippers in free agency talks: DeMar DeRozan. The high-scoring guard recently appeared on Podcast P with Paul George and spoke about his free agency journey.
The Clippers were "an option" for DeMar DeRozan in free agency
As we know, DeMar ultimately chose to agree to a sign-and-trade that sent him to the Sacramento Kings. But he explained that he took his time in signing, so that he gave himself the best opportunity and a chance at winning. Paul George asked DeRozan what other teams he was considering before choosing Sacramento.
"I was thinking about Philly," DeMar said. "Philly definitely was an option. Lakers was an option, always. Clippers was an option, and the Heat was an option. I would say those teams for sure was a real personal legitimate option that I was considering."
We do not know to what extent DeRozan was negotiating with each of these teams, but it is interesting to consider the prospect of having him on the current iteration of the Clippers. DeMar would have joined the Southern California crew with Harden and Kawhi, and he would have been yet another aging star potentially in the starting five.
Perhaps in that way it is good that DeRozan did not end up in LA. The Clippers have a need to get younger, and adding DeMar may have been more of a detriment than a benefit in the long-term.