DeMar DeRozan – F – San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs organization as a whole though is not in a tough position at all. They do have aging veterans such as Rudy Gay and LaMarcus Aldridge, but they also have a lot of solid young players like Dejounte Murray and Derrick White who will be some of the core players for the Spurs moving forward.
And then there is DeMar DeRozan who came to San Antonio before the start of the 2018-19 season in a trade that sent Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors. This was a shocking move as not only was Leonard traded by the Spurs, but the Raptors gave up DeRozan, who was beloved by the entire organization and fan base.
Toronto ultimately went on to win the 2019 NBA Finals, the franchise’s first NBA title, leaving DeMar DeRozan with a lot of question marks surrounding the remainder of his NBA career.
DeMar DeRozan is entering the final year of his contract and is owed $27.7M this upcoming season, but the question remains if he will be packing his bags and moving elsewhere to continue his career. He does not seem to be in the Spurs’ long-term plans at this point, as San Antonio looks to get younger and rebuild their core, and is still a player that holds a high-value on the NBA trade market.
Last season, DeMar DeRozan averaged 22.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists and shot 53.1% from the floor. He has one of the better mid-range games off-the-dribble in the NBA and can still be one of the better players on any team in the league. He may not be the All-Star he once was, but could be like Kawhi Leonard was to Toronto in the sense of coming in and being the x-factor for a team’s chances at winning a title.
The only thing that could prevent DeMar DeRozan from being on the move this season is the fact that he is owed $27.7M this year. There are just a few teams in the league who could actually bring in that big of a contract and many championship contenders may not want to tear apart their team mid-season to bring in DeRozan.
The fact that he is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and that San Antonio is not in the best position to make the playoffs makes DeMar DeRozan a player with NBA trade rumors around him, but his salary may be the breaking point in many deals.
If a team is willing to pay the taxes and money though to bring DeMar DeRozan in, they could be rewarded with a deep playoff run and potentially even a championship.
