DeMar DeRozan will replace Cavi Leonard as the San Antonio franchise player. That didn’t exactly happen. He hasn’t made an All-Star team since becoming a trader in San Antonio, and the Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997 under his watch in the Splendo Bubble. Now 31-year-old DeRozen is losing the 27.7 million-dollar player option and is reportedly unhappy in San Antonio. “DeMar doesn’t like San Antonio and he doesn’t want to live there,” an anonymous agent told Athletic.
DeRoz was cited in a report on Instagram, mostly with a post that read “When I said I was trying to figure it out,” but was not the first source to indicate his displeasure with Athletic Spurs. “DMR is not happy in San Antonio,” CNBC’s Jabari Young, a former Spurs Beat writer, said bluntly on ESPN San Antonio’s “The Blitz”. The Spurs have a number of young defenders who need minutes and touches, including DeGeneres Murray, Derrick White, Caldon Johnson and Lonnie Werker IV. Ideally, they probably prefer to go beyond De Derozon and kickstart their re-build around those youngsters.
But DeRozan won’t deny that player option, or at least he shouldn’t. Given his age and production dive, he won’t be on the table for just .7 27.7 million in this season. This is especially true of coronavirus caps. If he plays for a new team next season, it will almost certainly be done by trade. The question is how many teams will want it? While DeRozan’s shot-creation can help a low team increase playoff fun, his weak defense and lack of point shooting could weaken him in championship aspirations. It doesn’t fit particularly well with other stars, at least in theory, and at 31, small teams probably won’t take much interest.
It strictly limits what San Antonio can drum on the market, but few teams come out as reasonable alternatives.
- The agent who told Athletic about DeRozan’s displeasure in San Antonio linked Detroit to head coach Dwayne Casey. Pistons have a cap position to absorb dehydration relatively easily if they choose. If they want to retain the cap space, say, to participate in DeRozan’s former team-mate Fred Wenville, they have some finishing pay to potentially send back (Tony Snell, Derrick Rose) so they can retain the cap space. Still, the pistons have been stuck between the Eastern Conference packs for years. The Derozon-Black Griffin Core sounds like the second No. 8 seed. In a season that does not include Gate’s revenue, he will not be able to appeal to Detroit.
- Orlando fits the same mold as Toronto. Magic President Jeff Weltman came from Toronto, where he had a hand in building rosters around DeRozan. They have been without a primary perimeter scorer for years, and through Evan Furnier and Khem Birch, they could scrunge together $ 20 million in salary termination. Like Detroit, however, Magic is probably not satisfied playing for the medium, especially with Jonathan Isaac torn out of the ACL. They look great for tanks.
- DeRozen is a Los Angeles native who grew up worshiping Kobe Bryant. The Lakers need another ball-handler. A package built around the ending salaries of Danny Green, Javale McGee and Avery Bradley is possible, but all three players are better defenders than DeRozen. The Lakers won their championship with defense, and the shooting was also worrisome. DeRozan doesn’t help on that front either. The Lakers have to rely heavily on shooting and defense with every other rotation spot to take a shot at DeRozen.
- Never deny the Knicks in big business negotiations. Achieving dehydration would be cheaper in cash than Chris Paul’s trade, and would also cost his fortune. If the goal is to bring about a change in the team’s reputation, just bring in a star, DeRozan can work. But Paul is almost certainly preferable on that front. His influence on Shy Gilgius-Alexander is proof of what he can do for RJ Barrett and Michelle Robinson, and his reputation as president of the NBPA is unmistakable. He can shoot. Derozon can’t. The Knicks need to be shooting around those two young corners. This is a possibility, but a slim one.
- Nothing has suggested trade since DeRozen indicated he would be interested in returning to Toronto. Masai Ujiri has admitted that their relationship is not over yet. But the Raptors lost to the Celtics because they had no one to make their shots late in the playoff games. DeRozan can do this, and his expiring salary will not hinder his 2021 cap space ambitions. The issue here is making money work. The rappers don’t have enough money to send back to Spurs at this point to facilitate the deal, but there are possibilities through sign-and-trade or step-ladder deals. Spurs will be moved by Norman Powell, a valued role player, whom the Raptors will somehow move by giving his 2021-22 salary, and Patrick McCaw in salary profits. These resulting barriers should almost never exist, but are understood in terms of basketball terms.
None of these trades are slam dunk. DeRozan’s contract is rarely toxic, and his mistakes are not weak. But he’s an expensive player who fits nothing more than a low-end starter or a sixth man in many good teams. He doesn’t get a sixth man’s money, and at Cape Crunch, some teams want to pay someone higher or pay more for those who don’t shoot at a higher level. Dehydration on a rival makes sense in a league that no longer exists.
