Not only did DeRozan commit to the team, he signed below the max to do so. We’ll never know if he’d have had maximum offers elsewhere, but considering what the Lakers gave Timofey Mozgov, that the Lakers and Sixers were suitors and may struggle to get to the salary floor, and that other teams were said to be at the ready if negotiations with Toronto stalled (Miami, the Clippers, even the Warriors), it seems safe to say he had options. The specifics won’t come out because it doesn’t behoove anyone to release that information now, but it’s at least fair to say DeRozan is signing for less than he could have demanded, for what that’s worth.
A deal of $139 million could see DeRozan earn $25.2 million in Year One with an annual raise of 7.5 percent of that amount, but other structures are possible (including a slightly front-loaded deal). The reported total is just 91 percent of his possible max, meaning DeRozan left significant cash on the table as a sort of home-town discount. Sure, it’s more than he could have gotten elsewhere on this deal, but he also helps the team maintain an additional shred of flexibility moving forward, including in a pivotal 2017 offseason where tag-team partner Kyle Lowry becomes a free agent
Raptors extend qualifying offer to Nando De Colo – Raptors Republic: ESPN TrueHoop Network Blog
The Toronto Raptors have extended Nando De Colo a qualifying offer, making the French guard a restricted free agent. This is mostly a bookkeeping note, as De Colo recently signed a multi-year dealto remain in Russia with CSKA Moscow.
The 2015-16 Euroleague MVP won’t be returning to the NBA any time soon, but by extending him a qualifying offer, the Raptors can continue to hold his RFA rights in the event he returns down the line. Because De Colo last played for the Raptors and only accrued two years of NBA service time, the Raptors still hold the 28-year-old’s RFA and Early Bird rights. The Raptors tendered De Colo a qualifying offer in each of the last two offseasons, too, in order to retain those rights, maneuvering around his small cap hold. If they can do so again, the Raptors would be able to exceed the cap to re-sign him or match an offer sheet he signed elsewhere if he decides to make an NBA return later in his career (he’s still just 29).
DeMar DeRozan was never going to leave the Raptors: Arthur | Toronto Star
This is not an unalloyed victory for the franchise. DeRozan’s game is flawed. He has asked people up to and including LeBron James for tips on how to become a more efficient player, and he has done so, mostly by getting to the rim and the free throw line more. But he is still a midrange gunner in a threes-and-drives game. He is fearless, which is a blessing and curse. In Game 7 against both Indiana and Miami, DeRozan carried the Raptors for stretches, but he also took 32 and 29 shots, and made 10 and 12, respectively. He is a volume scorer who is below average defensively. He is still improving. We’ve all been over this ground before.
But DeRozan loves this city and this franchise, and re-signing with the Raptors has not always been a sure thing. He has always spoken about his desire to do things his way. All season, the loudest screaming pulpit-holder at ESPN would bellow that DeRozan wanted to be a Laker, he wanted to go home, and it was just so much empty air, dissipating into the sky. DeRozan, at the end of the season and before, always made it clear.
DeMar DeRozan agrees to a 5-year, $139 million deal with the Raptors, per report – SBNation.com
Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri wanted to keep his All-Star north of the border, too. “Our No. 1 goal is to bring DeMar back here,” Ujiri said in May. “We feel great that he wants to come back to our organization.”
Both followed their promise. DeRozan opted out of his contract on June 14 to become an unrestricted free agent. He did not take any other free-agent meetings and quickly returned to Toronto.
DeRozan’s seventh season in the NBA was his best. He averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game as the Raptors had their best season in franchise history. However, DeRozan struggled in the playoffs. After shooting 44.6 percent from the field during the regular season, he made only 39.4 percent of his shots in the postseason and was a miserable 15 percent shooter from behind the arc. Nonetheless, the Raptors were still able to get past the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heatbefore being eliminated by the Cavaliers.
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DeRozan conversion (using 5/139 and 7.5% raises) pic.twitter.com/JeYMrEKLGT
— Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) July 1, 2016
Source: DeRozan, Raptors reach five-year deal – Article – TSN
DeMar DeRozan turned the biggest year of his career into a very big contract.
The All-Star shooting guard is staying with the Toronto Raptors and agreed early Friday on the basic framework of a five-year deal, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
DeRozan and the Raptors still had some financial terms to complete but the sides agreed that he would be staying put, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
The Vertical reports the deal is worth more than $139 million.
DeRozan can sign on or after July 7, when the league’s off-season moratorium on player movement expires. He averaged a career-best 23.5 points this past season, becoming only the third Toronto player to ever score at such a pace — joining Vince Carter and Chris Bosh.
Keeping DeRozan was an absolute top priority for the Raptors. He’s wildly popular in Toronto and has been throughout each of his first seven pro seasons, but probably never more than he is now. The Raptors are coming off the best season in team history, when they won 56 games and were one of the NBA’s last four teams left in the post-season.
DeRozan and Kyle Lowry — not just his Toronto teammate, but also an Olympic teammate for USA Basketball this summer in Rio — have become one of the league’s top backcourts. And despite playing with an injured thumb, DeRozan came up huge in several games for the Raptors in this year’s playoffs. He scored 28 or more points six times in the post-season; the Raptors went 6-0 in those games.
DeMar DeRozan Gives Raptors Hometown Discount | Pro Bball Report
It was as easy as just showing up. The Toronto Raptors and All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan have agreed to a new five-year $139 million contract that starts at $24.1 million for the upcoming season. DeRozan could have asked for a max contract starting at over $26 million per season, but gave the Raptors a hometown discount. He never was going to shop around to get the most money.
“I was passionate about (Toronto) when we were losing,” DeRozan said after the season ended. “We were terrible I would say I would stick through this whole thing. I wanted to be that guy who would bring this organization to where it is now. I definitely don’t want to switch out after we win.
“My mindset has always been Toronto. I haven’t changed not one bit.”
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Exploring the Toronto Raptors mid-level exception options
A good ol’ Canadian boy. After the Orlando Magic elected not to offer the 26-year-old a qualifying offer on Tuesday, Nicholson was set adrift into the wide ocean of unrestricted free agency. The situation is eerily similar to that of Cory Joseph last year – another Canadian snatched up by his hometown team after getting let go by his former club.
The Mississauga-native is another solid option at the back-up 4 position. Nicholson, like Arthur, is coming off his best 3-point shooting season of his career, having drilled 36% last season. Nicholson is a decent energy guy who can hold his own on the defensive end.
Dull offseason awaits the Raptors (plus 5 bargain free agents to consider) — The Defeated — Medium
In this summer’s market, $6 million is chump change. Unproven talents like Harrison Barnes and Evan Fournier are asking for the max. Hell, even Solomon Hill is reportedly asking for $13 million after his team foolishly declined to pick up a $1 million option for 2016–17 last summer.
If you catch yourself dreaming about a significant addition, it’s time to wake up to the reality that even Solomon Hill would be unattainable given the Raptors’ price range.
That $6-million figure can be stretched further if they make some trades or if DeRozan takes a discount. Save for DeMarre Carroll’s questionable knees, the Raptors have no bad contracts on their books. Deals can be made if the right opportunity comes along.
But there’s a flip side to having good contracts — it doesn’t make sense to lose anyone in a salary dump. Moving some of the rookie-scale players wouldn’t open up any meaningful cap room. Trading away Cory Joseph or Patrick Patterson would just open up yet another vacancy. DeRozan would be on a new deal, while Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas are franchise cornerstones
Huge DeRozan deal solidifies Raptors' return to relevance – Yahoo Sports
It is unquestionably good news for the Raptors and DeRozan, who had given little indication that he had interest in leaving the team that drafted him with the No. 9 pick in 2009. DeRozan has developed from a stellar athlete with questionable technical skills into one of the league’s best shooting guards, a two-time All-Star who had his best season in 2015-16. There is reason to believe that he has not yet reached his prime, as well, so it’s not as if the Raptors are only paying for past production.
Nevertheless, this deal represents a hefty investment in a non-superstar who struggled mightily throughout the Raptors’ up-and-down playoff run. DeRozan shot just 39.4 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from three-point range during 20 wildly inefficient postseason appearances, with much of his work coming via the increasingly out-of-favor mid-range game. DeRozan seemed especially diminished in games where officials did not call fouls on contact that would have sent him to the line in most regular season contests. His reputation took a substantial hit even as Toronto progressed farther than it ever had.
DeRozan back with Raptors a matter of a man staying true to his word | Toronto Star
But money aside for a moment, his return to the Raptors under these circumstances is what should resonate the most and will assuredly be noticed around the NBA.
A two-time all-star presumably about to enter the prime of his career who is about to become an American Olympian, DeRozan did not even entertain offers to leave the Raptors, declining to meet with potential suitors who surely would have come at him with equally-lucrative gobs of money.
He has always professed a desire to spend his entire career in Toronto and this new deal shows him to be true to his word.
Toronto Raptors Rookie Review: Norman Powell
When Powell was drafted his most attractive asset was his defense — and for good reason. He’s an exceptional perimeter defender. I’ve mentioned before that defense determines your position in the NBA. Typically Powell would be considered a tall point guard for most teams, but since he’s capable of locking down 2-guards he plays the 2.
He is only 6-foot-4 but has a wingspan of 6-foot-11 and a 40-inch vertical. He’ll usually be shorter than anyone he is defending but that isn’t always a disadvantage as a guard. Against players in the post Powell uses his height deficit to make his centre of gravity lower than his opponent, keeping him on balance but also using his body as a wedge to push defenders off their spot.
