Everything Derozan

[Axel]

July 1st can't come quick enough. At least then we can go back to arguing about basketball merit instead of strategic semantics.

[Barolt]

July 1st can't come quick enough. At least then we can go back to arguing about basketball merit instead of strategic semantics.

You'd rather us go back to debating DeMar's basketball skills? I figured we were ALL tired of those arguments, on both sides.

[big boi]

If that was the case then people wouldn't be as surprised. People also wouldn't turn this into "its DeMar looking to squeeze more money out the Raptors." as some have.

It is about Demar's camp trying to control the narrative as another poster said. That is obvious. I think Demar is a high character guy (minus his in game selfishness) but this is a huge moment in his career and you can be sure he is receiving good advice from his agent. And he'd be a fool not to listen to his agent in this matter.

I for one hope that he listens to offers from other teams. No matter what happens we'll be over paying for Demar, but I don't want to over pay him to a ridiculous extent. If it's the absolute max or he entertains meetings I hope it's the latter.

[Axel]

You'd rather us go back to debating DeMar's basketball skills? I figured we were ALL tired of those arguments, on both sides.

Basketball skills change over time. Veiled hidden meanings behind words will never be confirmed or change.

[big boi]

Sure. But Occam's Razor here - simplest answer is that DeMar really is just taking meetings with us with every intention of re-signing, at some value that's already almost certainly been measured out by both sides give or take some small negotiating.

But as the man said. That's why it's brilliant. I have no doubt that Demar wants to come back. I absolutely take him at his word there. And not meeting other teams is consistent with that, certainly before the Raptors make their first offer.

But as we also know, Durant is by far the biggest free agent available and is everyone's #1 choice. That domino falls first. So Demar loses nothing by giving himself time to hear the raps' offer.

At the same time the position is not inconsistent with him wanting a contract reflective of what the market will bare.

It is also not inconsistent with him being a loyal soldier to the team or to his fans, or inconsistent with him only looking elsewhere if he is forced to because negotiations 'broke down'.

its a good Narative for the Demar camp. He has established the (moral) high ground.

[OldSkoolCool]

Man, I wish I could get paid big bucks to get carried to the ECF

[iblastoff]

reports say clippers, warriors, heat, knicks, magic and lakers have interest in signing derozen, as per sam amick of USA today.

[SkywalkerAC]

Can someone remind me how GS has anything remotely resembling cap space?

[Barolt]

reports say clippers, warriors, heat, knicks, magic and lakers have interest in signing derozen, as per sam amick of USA today.

I'm really having a hard time buying that report.

First of all, he was completely wrong on the idea that DeMar taking less money would help sign Bismack, because those two things are completely unrelated.

Secondly, the Warriors and Clippers? DeMar is an AWFUL fit on both of those teams, and neither of them has cap space for a max contract.

For the Heat, DeMar only makes sense if they're letting Wade walk... I don't see that happening.

[Apollo]

Monthly Rant (6 of 12)

It would be natural to suspect he might bolt when one recalls how Bosh walked and how McGrady walked. Or how Carter demanded a trade. Not to mention the numerous American media personalities that wiped their ass with Toronto with one hand while they give a thumbs up with the other as a lame qualifier that they're not ignorant arrogant pricks; Stephen A Smith, aka. SAShole, is a prime example over and over and over again. Only a month ago he came out and said he had a "source" who could confirm DeMar was going to play for the Lakers because that's where he's from bla bla bla f'you Toronto Raptors. The bias runs deep.

When DeMar was viewed as likely to leave he was on all the top FA lists. Now that he's said he's staying he's coming those lists and commentaries. Yet LeBron James, who came out and said long before DeMar that he too was staying put, is still on those lists and in those commentaries.

Simply put, American media can suck it. They're the reason why people would think he's bolting. They're the reason why the Raptors still struggle with credibility despite having a well run team top to bottom.

[Sinbad]

I'm really having a hard time buying that report.

First of all, he was completely wrong on the idea that DeMar taking less money would help sign Bismack, because those two things are completely unrelated.

Secondly, the Warriors and Clippers? DeMar is an AWFUL fit on both of those teams, and neither of them has cap space for a max contract.

For the Heat, DeMar only makes sense if they're letting Wade walk... I don't see that happening.

I don't buy it, especially the bit about Biyombo. JV would have to be moved to justify bringing Biz back. I don't see the fit with Golden State, the Clippers, the Knicks or the Heat either. A lot of speculation for page-clicks going on already. And if Riley moved on from Wade to bring in DeMar, Heat fans would riot.

[TheWaterboy]

Yeah, and again, I'm not saying there's anything to any of this. I'm still expecting DeMar back.

I just read into the leak possible media strategy, and posted speculation about it here. If I was sure it was real noise I would've posted it elsewhere and turned it into an article, rather than idly speculating here.

Regardless of strategy or not, this plays very well for the DeMar camp. If he re-signs with Toronto, he looks loyal, if he doesn't, it looks like Masai failed to bring it home, not that DeMar wasn't loyal. It basically puts all the burden on Masai and takes pressure off DeMar, even if that isn't intentional.

Whether or not this is strategic for Demar's camp, it's interesting from another angle. Sending out a signal that Demar has every intention of re-signing here now establishes our off-season as being one of trying to poach another star player rather than running the risk of getting our own star player poached. I expect a productive meeting between the Raptors and Derozan's camp early on in free agency with contract parameters agreed on for several scenarios (e.g. successful pitch to Durant, successful pitch to Horford, and so on.) I don't think Demar would take a 5 million/year haircut on his paycheck for just anybody, but I can certainly see him doing it if it allows us to snag someone at Durant's level. And if there is quick agreement on the salary numbers for each of the scenarios presented, we can have Derozan in on the pitches to those free agents.

All of the above being said, and despite the fact that our Demar/Kyle/JV core is a natural fit for Durant chemistry-wise, I'm not at all certain that Demar, Drake, and Masai are enough to get an appointment to pitch Durant this time around, even as part of a second round of appointments. I think he's looking to land in a place where he sees himself becoming a Lebron-esque media superstar, and that means big US cities with major US media presence and a history of the city identifying closely with all of its major league sports teams. We have a much better shot at pitching to Horford at this point.

I could easily be wrong on this point, and Masai may very well be announcing on July 2nd or 3rd that Demar has been signed to a max contract. But there is certainly reason for some guarded optimism that this opens the door for a little more flexibility for the team overall, especially since both Demar and Kyle have shown some signs of becoming team boosters and recruiters like Dwayne Wade.

[Barolt]

Source: DeRozan has four meetings scheduled. His first one is in Toronto and would prefer to sign a deal there. pic.twitter.com/wbym8vR3Tj

— NBA Reporters (@thenbareporters) June 26, 2016

This crossed my twitter feed, but I have no idea if it's reliable at all. I don't follow this account.

[Joey]

Can someone remind me how GS has anything remotely resembling cap space?

They drafted their entire Big-3 Core, and have all 3 on reasonable deals.
Steph is only making $12M next year.
Klay at $16-18M over the next 3 years is also silly.
Draymond at $15-18M over the next 4 is Robbery.

And they also have 8 guys becoming Free Agents this year; 2 key contributors in Barnes and Ezeli coming off Rookie deals.


Its looking at this where I'm hopeful we get Demar on a bit of a gift deal. $22-24M over the next 5 years is still ALOT of money, no matter how you cut it... and Demar is a nice guy, and would want Kyle to be able to get paid next year ... so I'm thinking him and Masai will work something out that keeps everyone happy.

[Apollo]

Source: DeRozan has four meetings scheduled. His first one is in Toronto and would prefer to sign a deal there. pic.twitter.com/wbym8vR3Tj

— NBA Reporters (@thenbareporters) June 26, 2016

This crossed my twitter feed, but I have no idea if it's reliable at all. I don't follow this account.

Its pretty messed up if the day after saying he's not doing something its announce he is actually doing it. Maybe his agent gave Ujiri the number and Ujiri fell out of his chair in shock and/or amusement?