The Los Angeles Lakers were a walking disaster in 2021-22, and Russell Westbrook, the team’s highest-paid player, was the poster boy for their failures. Westbrook was a poor fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but one player who could have meshed well with them is DeMar DeRozan, whom James wanted on the team, according to talk show host Cari Champion. “I ran into LeBron at an event, and he goes, ‘Well, I was trying to get DeMar…,” Champion said on the June 13 episode of “Naked With Cari Champion.”The Lakers didn’t make a good impression on DeRozan when he took part in meetings at James’ house last summer, according to a September 2021 report by The Athletic. In that report, Bill Oram, Shams Charania and Sam Amick noted “a perceived disconnect between the Lakers stars and the front office.” Champion elaborated on the Lakers-DeRozan meetings from her perspective to her guest on the show, Wosney Lambre of The Ringer. “Now, you know the story was: DeMar DeRozan could’ve been a Laker,” Champion, a former ESPN personality, said. “Now, DeMar and I are friends. I remember specifically he meeting with LeBron, but he was saying Rob [Pelinka, Lakers general manager] wasn’t trying to give him the years. He wanted the years. LeBron wanted [DeRozan]. They wouldn’t give [the years] to him. He was still under the impression that he was going to be a Laker, and then they signed Russell Westbrook