NEWSLETTER
Slowly but surely, the DeMar DeRozan market is growing.
It isn’t often that a player with DeRozan’s resume is available this late into free agency. The six-time All-Star has averaged 24.0 points per game over his last 10 seasons, and he’s done it while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. Not to mention, DeRozan has shown almost zero signs of slowing down. The 35-year-old is fresh off leading the league in total minutes played, proving that he remains one of the most dependable veterans in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat have been mentioned as seemingly eager suitors. However, both have very limited financial flexibility, making it tough for them to work out the kind of sign-and-trade DeRozan’s camp likely covets. The Sacramento Kings also entered the conversation earlier this week, as they have reportedly explored adding several All-Star-level talents this summer (including Zach LaVine). But the list doesn’t stop there.
The further we get into free agency, the more potential landing spots seem to arise. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has been all over the Heat’s connection to DeRozan, but he recently added the San Antonio Spurs into the conversation on X.
A Reunion for DeMar DeRozan?
Of course, DeMar DeRozan spent three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs after the Toronto Raptors traded him in 2018. While the team was going through a drastic change at the time, the veteran played some of his most well-rounded basketball. DeRozan averaged 21.6 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.3 rebounds with the organization. He’s gone on to praise head coach Greg Popovich plenty for helping him unlock more of his game.
With that in mind, it’s not necessarily crazy to think he’d be open to a reunion this offseason. It’s also not necessarily hard to understand why the Spurs would want him back in the building. The Spurs clearly care about improving the on-court product around Victor Wembanyama ASAP, as they also added 39-year-old point guard Chris Paul this offseason. If the goal is to give the emerging superstar a taste of winning and professionalism, DeRozan can definitely help with that.
Would it be the perfect landing spot for the forward? No. DeRozan deserves to be a place where he can contend for championships (and his fit with Wemby isn’t outstanding). But if the Spurs are willing to pay him and DeRozan is comfortable serving the role of a mentor, it could be a marriage that makes sense.
The big question now is what kind of contract is San Antonio willing to offer. If they work out a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, they’re tying themselves to the vet for three years. If that isn’t the plan, they can either stay above the cap and offer the mid-level exception (which prior reports have suggested DeRozan’s camp isn’t thrilled about) or move below the cap to sign him with cap space. The team has several non-guaranteed players on their roster and could open up as much as $16.0 million in cap space (h/t/ Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype). With the way things are trending, signing a one-year deal worth that much could be the most attractive path for DeRozan.
