If DeMar DeRozan’s Time With The Spurs Is Over, What Are His Best Options?

Less than two years ago, DeMar DeRozan was the highlight of the package from the Toronto Raptors that sent Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green the other way. With tow guaranteed years of team control, the San Antonio Spurs had an All-Star replacement for an All-Star player, albeit one that was not the game-changer of Leonard’s caliber.

With this season’s abrupt close, though, it may have prematurely ended DeRozan’s time in the Alamo City. He never agreed to a contract extension with the Spurs, and he has a player option to decide on, worth $27.7 million, whenever the NBA off-season starts. Hinting at what may happen, CNBC’s Jabari Young told ESPN San Antonio, DeRozan is “unhappy” in San Antonio

If DeRozan enters a free agency of uncertain finances, a few options exist. A potentially high price tag takes most teams out of the mix, but a trio, for now, stand out for his services this off-season:

Miami Heat

Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson comprise a solid, steady core for next season. They already surprised the NBA by soaring up the Eastern Conference, and they have will have the cap space to add a big-name free agent, with just a projected $82.44 million in salaries. Of course, that does not factor the potential cap ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Heat will have the money to pay DeRozan, who slots alongside Butler. Either player can act as a primary ball-handler, allowing Goran Dragic to walk in free agency without finding a prototypical point guard to replace him.

The usual concerns with DeRozan’s 3-point woes are negated, too. Miami was 10th in the NBA in attempts per game from behind the arc, and Herro, Nunn, Robinson and Iguodala all shot at least 36.2 percent from distance. However, Butler had an uncharacteristically poor year on 3-pointers, making just 24.8 percent of them, but on only 2.2 attempts per game. He was never elite in that regard, but having two 6-foot-6 guards/forwards controlling the ball and not spacing the floor is an issue. Plus, Adebayo does not shoot 3-pointers, either. Everything quickly becomes clustered and similar to San Antonio.

New York Knicks

New team president, Leon Rose can clear the deck on what Steve Mills and Scott Perry created last summer. Everyone from Bobby Portis to Wayne Ellington has a team option, only a partially guaranteed salary or will hit free agency in the off-season. Cap space will open, and the New York Knicks are always a threat to throw cash at free agents for a quick fix.

Enter DeRozan.

Past age 30, DeRozan gets the four-year maximum contract from New York, slotting as the forward between RJ Barrett and Julius Randle. This is already a team that does not shoot well (27th in 3-point percentage), so offensive issues are bound to carry into next season, despite adding a primary scorer in this scenario.

DeRozan is the closest thing to star-power since Carmelo Anthony’s heyday and the glimpse of Kristaps Porzingis’ upside. Does that tempt the Knicks to go all-in on a player who hasn’t taken his teams over the top?

Orlando Magic

If there was a team to acquire DeRozan before the trade deadline, the Orlando Magic made sense. They were around the playoff fringe, sans a leading scorer, and had the salaries and complementary pieces to make a deal happen with the Spurs.

Orlando will still have the matching salaries to create a transaction with San Antonio—if DeRozan opts in. The alternative, signing him in free agency, is more complicated, requiring a corresponding trade with another team to shed salary or a sign-and-trade with the Spurs.

Aaron Gordon would become a trade candidate. He is owed approximately $34.5 million in guarantees through 2021-22, but the frontcourt is packed. Nikola Vucevic took a massive contract extension last year; Jonathan Isaac came along before an injury; and Mo Bamba remains young enough to make an impact. There are too many players to compete with for time, and Gordon’s time in Orlando has not defied expectations, despite the overwhelming athletic and physical tools.

Moving Gordon makes a DeRozan arrival more feasible but not perfect, though that extra, necessary room can generate from Evan Fournier declining his own player option. Otherwise, the Magic have a second high salary to move.