Going market value
The salary cap is booming, where players like Terrence Ross receive $11 million per year contracts. DeRozan’s agent will bring up that figure in their meetings.
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So if Ross makes $11m/year, Wesley Matthews and Jimmy Butler make $16.4m/year, Klay Thompson makes $15.5M/year and a wing like Khris Middleton makes $14.7M/year, where does DeRozan fit? The highest paid shooting guard is Dwyane Wade at 20M/year, but he has the lifetime award contract. You can definitely argue that DeRozan is a more valuable player than Wade right now.
Why does it matter?
DeMar will be the first shooting guard to hit unrestricted free agency in the salary cap explosion. A lot of teams are going to have a lot of cap room so DeRozan will not only have his pick, but a lot of money offered to him.
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DeRozan may have his shortcomings (lack of a consistent 3-point shot, average quickness and defence, can get isolation happy) but all players do. The fact that he is always improving and has the willingness to work hard and fight every day is enough reason to offer him a large contract.
Now the next question is, will he take a hometown discount?
All statistics are courtesy of NBA.com.