UPDATE:
According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated, DeRozan’s new deal will likely pay him $29 million per season – meaning his contract is worth $145 million over five years, $7 million below his max-level number.
Earlier:
We’re speculating here, but we doubt that many other teams really stood a chance in acquiring restricted free agent, DeMar DeRozan. Sam Amick of USA Today had the news first: the Raptors have reached an agreement to bring their All-Star shooting guard back for another half decade.
DeMar DeRozan has decided to re-sign with the Toronto Raptors, @USATODAYsports has learned. Terms not finalized.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 1, 2016
Details are not confirmed yet and we have no idea if the whole thing is guaranteed, or — like his backcourt mate, Kyle Lowry, he has a player option in the final year — but Shams Charania of The Vertical confirmed Amick’s report and added that the five-year deal would total $139 million (which is around $27.8 million per year).
DeMar DeRozan has agreed to a five-year deal to re-sign with the Toronto Raptors, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
DeMar DeRozan has agreed to a five-year, $139 million-plus deal with Toronto, sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
Because DeMar just finished his seventh season in the league, a max deal would be 30 percent of the projected $94 million cap for 2016-17, which over the length of the deal projects to be over $150 million, so it’s a little bit less than the maximum allowable under the current collective bargaining agreement.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca offered up an amount that was slightly less:
I asked one source DeRozan's $$ "A lot" was the answer. I am told $5yrs/137.5. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) July 1, 2016
Regardless, the Raptors have their backcourt locked up at least for another season (Kyle Lowry can opt out of his deal next summer).
For DeRozan, it’s not a surprise signing. Less than a week ago a report said DeRozan wasn’t even going to meet with other teams. If he did, he did it fast. It was the second deal reached in the still-inchoate free agency period that started two and half hours before this writing.
We mentioned DeRozan in our piece about the gargantuan contracts you could expect to see this year after the cap spiked so high and Kevin Durant finally picked a suitor. Well, DeRozan and the Raptors didn’t leave much to chance, agreeing to terms before any other big-name player was confirmed. We’re not surprised it was a tad under the max. It’ll give Toronto more wiggle room if they attempt to re-sign unrestricted free agent Bismack Biyombo, who — with the news of Timofey Mozgov’s deal and Joakim Noah’s impending agreement with the Knicks — could make near the max as well.
We’ll have more as it comes, but one of our biggest-named free agents is off the board, and we’re still in the first few hours of free agency.
