DeMar DeRozan has decided to stay with the Toronto Raptors, according to a report from Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports.
That deal is for five years, according to Shams Charania of The Veritcal. Amick adds that the final salary figure is unknown in part because the Raptors will have other pieces moving around – as we’ve explained here, DeRozan’s salary isn’t likely to impact the team’s other moves, but the timing of his signing could.
And while terms have not been finalized, but it’s worth noting that the Raptors could offer DeRozan more than any other team in free agency due to owning his Bird Rights. That would allow the Raptors to not only give DeRozan larger annual raises but also a fifth year on a deal, and the total sum of his deal with the Raptors could reach an estimated $152.9 million over five seasons (compared to $113.6 million over four years with another team). There was a belief that the two sides would try to find a five-year deal somewhere between those two total amounts, though the early spending bonanza may have assured DeRozan of the max (an amount you can argue he doesn’t “deserve,” but one he can absolutely command relative to this free agent market in the new cap economy).
UPDATE: Charania says the deal is for $139 million-plus. (Michael Grange of Sportsnet has it at $137.5 million.)
(Late update: Marc Spears and Sam Amick are reporting that DeRozan’s deal may be closer to $145M than $137.5-139, but Arthur and Grange have held firm at $137.5. It’s possible that reported difference could be due to incentives in the contract that would set the initial cap total at $137.5M with the upside to reach $145M. By adding incentives deemed to be “not likely to be achieved,” they won’t count against the cap until realized. Things like certain point or assist plateaus, All-NBA inclusion, MVP, and so on are things that could fall under this category.)
That’s huge. 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.
The expectation was always that a deal would be done quickly, to the point that DeRozan hadn’t even scheduled meetings with other teams. DeRozan has long been adamant that he wanted to stay, and while players often say that as requisite lip service, there’s always been a sense that DeRozan was saying so earnestly. His early and solitary commitment to working something out with the only franchise he’s ever known speaks volumes about his desire to stay in Toronto.
Even with the final figures coming n at an eye-popping amount – it’s not that bad relative to some of the deals being handed out or rumored here on July 1, but there will be no “normal” looking deals this summer – it can’t be overstated how important it is for a franchise that has always had superstars want to leave to have an All-Star genuinely want to stay.
Don't worry, I got us…
— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) June 29, 2010
A two-time All-Star, the team’s No. 9 overall pick in 2009 ranks second in franchise scoring and third in games played, records he’ll hold with one more season in Toronto, and he’s also, of course, been a key part of the best single postseason and the best three-season stretch in team history. It wasn’t quite a black-and-white decision given how much DeRozan is commanding, but the franchise has long believed something would get done.
“Our number one goal is to bring DeMar back here. We feel great that he wants to come back to our organization,” general manager Masai Uiiri said at his season-ending media availability.
DeRozan, meanwhile, has long said he’d like to stay with the Raptors on multiple occasions (see here, here,here, here, and here for more)
Look, DeRozan has some flaws. He tops out as only an average defender, he isn’t a great 3-point shooter, and he’s struggled at times in the playoffs. The offense can get gummed up working around his drive-oriented attack, and while he’s gotten better as a passer, that skill manifests at some times more than others. Those are the realities that made giving him the max a tough choice. Giving max money to a non-superstar is always a difficult call, and there are cogent arguments that the Raptors could have been nearly as well-off letting DeRozan walk, using that money to fortify their depth (less sturdy an argument given the reported asking prices for even bit players), and spreading his touches around the team. Locking in to DeRozan may also limit the team’s long-term upside, though the deal should remain tradeable for the foreseeable future if the Raptors need to pivot courses.
He’s also a 26-year-old who has improved markedly in each season of his career, was just the leading scorer on the best team in franchise history, and is a perfect avatar for what the organization looks for in a person as a hard-working, team-first player (he’s been working out with the team’s youngsters in L.A. of late) who’s the type of community-oriented citizen the franchise values so highly. He’s also a moderate-efficiency scorer at an extremely high volume, which is a difficult thing to do. The defensive attention he commands is important to everything the Raptors do, and his preternatural ability to get to the free-throw line helps make things easier for teammates by lifting the team into the bonus often. He’s also incredibly turnover-avoidant for a high-usage scorer, which is why head coach Dwane Casey is so comfortable leaning on him in isolations or basic sets for a one-on-one attack in clutch situations (though whether that’s a positive is up for debate).
Yes, those good things are the minimum for a near-max player, but given the 2016 free agent market, given the Raptors’ lack of recourse to replace him if he left, and given his important to the franchise, now and in historical terms, DeRozan staying is a big deal. Again, you can definitely debate paying DeRozan this amount, as he’ll take up a sizeable chunk of the salary cap in 2016-17 (about 26.6 percent, based on an average estimate of his starting salary) and maybe 24 percent on 2017-18 (based on some very rough estimates), I wouldn’t fault you for that. The fact that debate about DeRozan has been so split across our comments and the internet as a whole is indicative of this not being a crystal clear situation. My mind is that from an asset management standpoint, from an organizational culture standpoint, and from a reputation-building standpoint, re-upping DeRozan and locking into at least being good over the next few seasons is a justifiable approach. But you’re certainly welcome to disagree, as I’m sure many will.
Now the question becomes when does DeRozan officially sign. His cap hold is for just $15.5 million, which means if the Raptors want to create a modicum of cap space (or a more significant amount by unloading a contract in trade), they’ll wait on making his new deal official. If they’re of the mind they should stay above the cap to expand their options in terms of exceptions, then it would make sense to sign DeRozan’s extension at 12:01 on July 7. Those are bookkeeping questions only, and it’s incredibly unlikely anything happens a la DeAndre Jordan where this deal doesn’t get consummated. DeRozan is back.
Based on estimates of $137.5-139 million over the life of the deal, DeRozan’s first-year salary could range from $23.8M to $26.6M, depending on the annual raises. That won’t have much of an impact on, say, a Bismack Biyombo, because the Raptors wouldn’t re-sign DeRozan until a deal requiring cap space was completed. It’s probably best for the team if the deal is structured to minimize the 2017 cap hit, but that might depend on how the rest of the offseason plays out. There’s some flexibility here with the exact numbers and timing, and the Raptors are well-staffed to figure out the best way to maximize the terms they’re agreed to.
We’ll know more later in the weekend or next week (it’s 3 a.m. and my pizza just arrived). There’s so much more going into this contract than just the raw dollar number compared to our expectations of what a player of this caliber “should” get paid. Things are complicated, but one of the best players in team history wanted to stay and took less than the max – on an insane night for contract rumors – to do so. I’m going to take that with me to bed before turning to evaluate whether this was the best long-term course of action.
(Just as a late side note, Nic Batum getting $19 million less over five years, albeit with a player option involved, changes the optics here slightly.)
