DeMar DeRozan: Desire to stay with Raptors 'a mutual thing'
Having spent his entire six-plus year career with the Toronto Raptors, there's no desire on the part of DeMar DeRozan to leave.
However, DeRozan's contract contains a $10-million player option for the 2015-16 season, and given that the salary cap is set to explode, DeRozan will almost assuredly decline his option and become an unrestricted free agent.
If that scenario plays out, DeRozan's first choice will be staying in Toronto with a franchise that's grown close to him, he told Sportsnet's Eric Smith.
"Since I've been here - I've been here longer than everybody - and nobody has stressed being a Toronto Raptor more than me," DeRozan said following a question regarding teammate Terrence Ross' $33-million extension.
"We have a chemistry that we'll continue to build on and there's no question about it that I want to be with these guys. Everybody knows that. That's why I never get questioned in it - and they (the organization) never get questioned on it too much anyway - cause it's a mutual thing," DeRozan said.
Should DeRozan hit the fervent, TV-revenue-infused market as a free agent in 2016, the 26-year-old would likely find himself with no shortage of suitors, which therefore means his price should be high.
A maximum salary for DeRozan would start at $25 million per year, and while he'll be unrestricted, the Raptors have the advantage of being able to offer him a five-year deal as opposed to four years from other suitors.
The downside of re-signing DeRozan for the Raptors, however, is it would tie up most of their flexibility to lock in a good - not great - player in an expensive contract. For all his abilities and his devotion to Toronto (not insignificant given the Raptors' long history of losing players), DeRozan remains a largely inefficient scorer who can't shoot the three and hoists an obscene volume of midrange jumpshots.
From a broader perspective, re-signing DeRozan for something close to the max would also cement a decent - but again, not great - roster. Cory Joseph, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll, Jonas Valanciunas and the aforementioned Ross all signed through 2017 for in excess of $7 million per player. That core - minus Carroll and Joseph - was bounced from the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
As it stands, the Raptors have $83.1 million in guaranteed contracts for the summer of 2016. If they re-sign DeRozan to the max, they'll have no cap room to work with next summer. Keep in mind that the Raptors would have a huge hole at power forward to fill that summer, as Patrick Patterson is their lone option on the books. Re-signing DeRozan would likely mean another year of merely getting by with a patchwork power forward.
Nevertheless, the two sides remain amicable as they head into what's essentially a contract year for DeRozan - which is a huge positive. But that relationship will be put to the test next season, and while the two sides feel positively about each other, re-signing for the long run might not make the most sense.
Since 2013, DeRozan boasts averages of 21.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while getting to the free-throw line 7.5 times. He's a durable shooting guard who excels at slashing to the hoop and drawing fouls that garnered a 2014 All-Star nod.