DeMar DeRozan is struggling to such a degree in the postseason that my Twitter feed has become a near-nightly discussion of how much he should command as an unrestricted free agent this summer. The 26-year-old can and will decline his player option for next season, and no matter how the playoffs have played out, he’s likely to have max contract offers on his desk at 12:01 on July 1. There’s simply too much money flooding a thin free agent market as the salary cap rises for DeRozan not to get the max, should he command it.
The bigger question, then, becomes how many different suitors he’ll have and, more notably for this site, how much the Raptors will be willing to offer. It’s long sounded like DeRozan will stay, as his comments and those of Masai Ujiri make it sound as if both sides are committed long-term. See here, here, here, and here for more.
That’s great, and surely possible, but you can’t blame people for raising the question as DeRozan’s struggles wear on. The Raptors are tied 2-2 with the Heat in Round Two more in spite of him than because of him, with DeRozan shooting 33 percent from the floor, 15.8 percent on threes, and an uncharacteristic 73.8 percent at the line. He’s averaging 17.7 points, the worst playoff average of his career, and 2.5 assists to 2.4 turnovers, far worse than the 4-to-2.2 ratio he posted in the regular season. A lot of that is due to the quality of defensive opposition he and the team have faced, as well as an injured right thumb (he can hardly tie his shoe), but how poorly he’s played on offense at times is still striking.
DeRozan spoke with Michael Lee of The Vertical about his thumb, his struggles and his impending free agency. It’s worth a full read, but here are the relevant quotes:
“I’m going to fight through it, deal with it and go from there with it. I’ve got a whole summer to let it heal and figure itself out.”
…
“You can’t let frustration get to you, at all. Can’t listen to what the outsiders got to say. You just can’t get caught up in that. You’ve got to stay positive,” DeRozan said. “It’s 2-2. We’ve got a great opportunity to go home and do what we can do.”
…
“I feel like I have nothing to worry about,” DeRozan said of his pending free agency. “I take it day by day, whatever happens. I’m not even looking towards then. I’m thinking about the next game and trying to figure out that.
It’s great that he’s not thinking about it and remaining mostly positive about his struggles. There’s really no other way to handle it beyond staying upbeat and trying to adjust. And the free agency questions, well, they can probably wait until after the season is done (I mean, speculate or discuss away, but like DeRozan, I’m just focused on the next game).
