Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan Problem

As the Raptors reflect on a successful season, it’s now time to look towards the summer and the changes that are on the horizon

The NBA salary cap may be set for a dramatic rise over the next two years to a reported $108 million but there are still some teams who will have to deal with a limited amount of money available for prospective free agents. The Toronto Raptors are one of those teams. With players like Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas taking up a large chunk of the organization’s cap space, Toronto will have very little cash to throw at new players. Before general manager Masai Ujiri and his team can get to work on other teams free agents, however, they first need to solve the future of DeMar DeRozan.

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The 26-year-old holds a player option of $9.5m for the 2016-17 season, according to basketball-reference, but there is very little expectation that he opts in. Instead, DeRozan is going to be fielding offers from several franchises across the league with the Los Angeles Lakers, situated in his home state of California, rumoured to be the front-runners for his signature should he up and leave Toronto. The Lakers have a ton of cap space to spend this summer as they aim to return to the glory days the organization was once accustomed to. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak is expected to sit down with numerous free agents throughout the summer as they aim to bring a Championship back to the Staples Center. If DeRozan is indeed one of their most valued targets, chances are Ujiri will need to offer a max deal to the shooting guard in order to keep him in Canada.

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There’s been murmurings and mumblings that DeRozan will take a slight discount for the Raptors due to him playing his whole career there. Drafted 9th in the first round back in 2009, DeRozan took a while to endear himself to the Toronto faithful. Seen as a dunk specialist and iffy shot selector, the University of Southern California alum never showed his true talent until the 2013-2014 season. That campaign saw him reach career highs in his 3-point shooting (30.5%), points per game (22.7), rebounds per game (4.1) as well as assists per game (4.0). His first All-Star appearance rounded up an impactful year for DeRozan, with his performance showing how valuable he was to the team. Despite a mini-setback in the season after, where he would miss 22 games in the regular season as a result of injury, DeRozan bounced back with another solid year in 2015-16. The question now is, was it impressive enough for the Raptors front office to risk being encumbered with a $25m contract?

Apr 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) dunks during the third quarter in game five of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Raptors won 102-99. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

According to his PER rating, DeRozan was among the best 21 players in the league, of those who played over 60 matches during the regular season. His score of 21.5 was the second-best scored by a shooting guard, beaten only by James Harden. In terms of Offensive Win Shares, DeRozan finished 10th, and once again only behind Harden in the shooting guard rankings for this statistic. Overall Win Shares, where the defensive impact of a player is combined with their offense, sees him drop down slightly to 14th, though he is not far behind his teammate Lowry in these standings. DeRozan averaged 23.5 points per game, yet again second best for his position, while also posting at least a top 6 score in FG% with those who took at least 12 shots a match and finished with the third most free throws attempted throughout the season.

Cap space flexibility is vital to a franchise’s future, which is why some are against the idea of handing DeRozan a max contract. $25 million is a lot of money to commit to a player who hasn’t exactly been the definition of consistency throughout his time in the league. His hot-and-cold performances in this year’s playoffs are an example of the unreliable production that DeRozan can sometimes offer. However, his impact can’t be ignored and his ever-improving play should be reason enough to take a chance on him becoming an even better player as he enters his prime.