Of all the moving and shaking in this year’s offseason, one of the most talented free agents on the market also had one of the least eventful recruitments. DeMar DeRozan re-signed immediately with the Raptors, and wouldn’t even entertain offers from other teams. According to Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, the negotiation lasted all of 15 minutes.
On Thursday, Ujiri and DeRozan held a press conference to officially announce the star’s return, and DeMar outlined exactly why he never considered other teams. The Compton native’s statement boiled down to one line: “I am Toronto.” Asked why he’s so committed to remaining with one team for his whole career, he responded:
It’s a legacy that can never be taken away… It takes somebody a long time to accomplish what I’ve accomplished [with the Raptors]. And yet I still feel like I haven’t did nothing. You know, I can honestly sit up here and say, I haven’t did nothing… I always try to come back every year and be better, and better and better. That’s my whole mindset…
There’s things I want to accomplish here, so that when I’m done, I can be the one that says, “You know, I did it. I stuck through the tough times, when everybody counted you out, and made it through the great times. I don’t run when the times get tough.”
If DeRozan said that last year and bolted in free agency this summer anyway, it wouldn’t be the first time that loud public proclamations about desires for legacies get washed away by other concerns, but he literally put his money where his mouth is, signing a contract that takes him through what amounts to his entire athletic prime — he’ll next be a free agent at age 31.
DeMar’s ability to score and draw contact at the basket is elite, and he deserved the max contract he got, so of course his negotiation was a simple one. It’s the next contract, when DeRozan will likely be more accomplished but worth less money going forward, when his broad statements about loyalty will truly be tested. After all, Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade proved, in their own separate ways, that legacy is just one of many factors that a basketball player has to consider.
