The Toronto Raptors won’t be wasting any time trying to come to an agreement with the biggest star that’s ever been adamant he wants to remain with the franchise long-term.
DeMar DeRozan has granted the Raptors the first meeting in his unrestricted free agency, as expected. Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com reports that the meeting will take place on July 1 in Los Angeles, updating an earlier note from Michael Grange of Sportsnet that the Raptors’ brass would meet with DeRozan early in the process (without a specific date).
Haynes also notes that Miami, Dallas, Philadelphia, and the Lakers “could follow,” but there doesn’t appear to be much planned in that regard. Earlier reports indicated that DeRozan hasn’t scheduled meetings with anyone else, and the expectation around Toronto is that he won’t, should things go as planned. Whether that happens is uncertain given that DeRozan will have maximum offers waiting for him and the Raptors, who can offer a fifth year and larger annual raises, may want to split the difference between his max with the team and his max elsewhere.
The important thing to note here is that the Raptors are going to have every opportunity to get a DeRozan agreement done right out of the gate, which is a great position to be in. I wrote about this in greater detail Sunday, so I’ll direct you there for further context and analysis.
