Three years ago, when DeMar DeRozan was a free agent, some speculated he might take a significant pay cut. Just hours before DeRozan agreed to a sign-and-trade deal to join the Chicago Bulls, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported at the time that the star wing was scheduled to meet with the Los Angeles Clippers that same day, but the Clippers only had the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth $5.9 million at the time) available.
DeRozan made $27.7 million last season with the San Antonio Spurs. His final contract with the Bulls was worth $81.9 million over three years. Now, as a free agent again, Hanging in the air Coming off a season in which he made $28.6 million, I’m feeling deja vu. Like last time, there were reports he wanted to stay in his hometown of Los Angeles. Like last time, there were reports the Miami Heat wanted him. Like last time, he and the Heat are willing to part ways, but there isn’t much cap space. Will some team suddenly pop up in a sign-and-trade like the Bulls did?
DeRozan plans to be “very patient,” Haynes, now with Bleacher Report, said Tuesday. Haynes and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said Chicago would be willing to do a sign-and-trade, but DeRozan could take a one-year deal instead. In that scenario, he could become a free agent again next summer, at which point he might have more options. (In a sign-and-trade, the contract must be for one year.) minimum Three years, but only the first year should be fully guaranteed.
But what kind of one-year deal would he get? And with whom? Haynes said DeRozan wouldn’t even consider signing under the nontaxpayer mid-level exception (i.e., $12.9 million). The only two teams with the cap space needed to directly sign DeRozan to a deal he’s comfortable with are the Detroit Pistons (who don’t fit his timeline, have a ton of young guards/wings who need the ball in their hands, and already spent big money in the offseason on a veteran in Tobias Harris) and the Utah Jazz (who don’t fit his timeline, and can use the cap space to renegotiate and extend Lauri Markkanen’s contract in August, unless they trade him before then).
There are a few other teams with more than $20 million in spending power. The Brooklyn Nets would get a trade exception worth about $23 million if they complete a deal for Mikal Bridges (assuming Bojan Bogdanovic’s contract qualifies for the Spencer Dinwiddie trade exception). And the Atlanta Hawks would get a trade exception worth more than $25 million if they complete a deal for Dejounte Murray (assuming Larry Nance Jr. and Dyson Daniels’ contracts qualify for the John Collins trade exception). But neither team is likely to put the soon-to-be 35-year-old scorer on the market unless they’re confident the value of the deal is high enough to resell DeRozan for a plus in a few months. (Well, maybe if he’s making $20-25 million a season.)
Want to know more about the salary cap? To complicate things even further, any team that acquires DeRozan in a sign-and-trade would immediately be hard-capped at the first apron (i.e., $178.1 million). This is why it would be difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers, for example, to acquire DeRozan in a sign-and-trade. As it stands, the Lakers’ projected total salary after re-signing LeBron James is: Number 2 The Hawks are on the apron (i.e., $188.9 million), so even if they were able to swap D’Angelo Russell for DeRozan in a sign-and-trade, they’d have to shed other salary (and/or re-sign James with the entire salary reduction) to make it cap-legal, and for the same reason, even though the Hawks have a large trade exception, they can’t actually use it to acquire DeRozan for a salary above $18 million (and they’d need to waive both Garrison Matthews and Bruno Fernando to pay him that amount).
In other words, while there may be plenty of teams who would welcome DeRozan under different circumstances, it’s unclear whether any would do what it takes to acquire him anytime soon. The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reported Tuesday that the Heat are in the running to make a move for DeRozan, but added that there’s “no indication Miami is doing everything it can to sign him.”
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported that the Lakers are making moves to acquire DeRozan, but the Heat are “viewed as the slight favorite,” citing league sources. Miami has an easier path to the first apron than Los Angeles, but it also has Caleb Martin’s free-agent contract. In contrast, the Sacramento Kings, whom ESPN’s Marc Spears called a “dark horse for DeRozan,” are comfortably in the first apron. According to NBC Sports Chicago’s KC Johnson, the Bulls like Kings wing Kevin Huerter, which might make Sacramento the most natural trade partner… if the front office decides DeRozan is a good fit (which is questionable).
But DeRozan’s patience may pay off. Even if it’s true, as Wojnarowski says, that the kind of contract he wants “isn’t on the market,” it’s worth remembering that the market can change. If the Jazz were to trade Markkanen, for example, there would be ripple effects. One is that they might suddenly be ready to use their cap space to sign DeRozan. who He has to score — or, more likely, shoulder the salary burden from any team that wants to sign him (or that wants to acquire him in a sign-and-trade but is too close to the apron to do so).
The point is, DeRozan doesn’t have to wait for the Markkanen situation to be resolved before he finds a new team. Even though most of the big offseason deals seem to have already been made, there are still big moves to be made that could impact DeRozan’s market. Late last September, Jrue Holiday told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he “wanted to be a Bucks for life,” never realizing he was on the brink of being traded (twice). I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brandon Ingram, Andrew Wiggins and Cameron Johnson move relatively soon. How about Trae Young and Clint Capela? How about Jimmy Butler?
It’s a little awkward that DeRozan, a six-time All-Star, is back in this predicament again, waiting for the NBA to come up with a creative way to pay the money a player of his caliber would normally demand. But hey, it worked last time.
