The Raptors are working “hard” to move not only Kyle Lowry, but DeMar DeRozan as well, according to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). A source tells Ingram that the price tags on the two Raptors are “surprisingly high.”
While Lowry has been the subject of several recent trade rumors, DeRozan hasn’t been mentioned as frequently, though ESPN.com’s Chad Ford reported on Monday that Toronto seemed open to discussing him in deals. Lowry is on an expiring contract, so moving him wouldn’t necessarily signal an all-out rebuild. However, the same can’t be said of DeRozan, whose contract runs through 2017.
DeRozan’s four-year, $38MM extension was panned when it was signed, but it doesn’t look too bad now, considering how well the 24-year-old is playing this season. Although he and Rudy Gay were often grouped together when fans and pundits criticized an inefficient Raptors offense, DeRozan has been more effective than his former teammate, averaging 21.4 PPG with a career-high 17.4 PER.
Since he’s locked up through 2017 at a reasonable price, DeRozan could conceivably be part of the franchise’s next contending roster, so there’s no real pressure for the Raptors to move him. But it was former GM Bryan Colangelo, not Masai Ujiri, who extended the swingman, and it’s not clear whether Ujiri feels DeRozan is part of the team’s long-term plans. If dealing him could land the Raptors a couple assets and improve the team’s odds of landing a top 2014 pick, Ujiri may opt to go that route.
As for Lowry, the Knicks continue to look like the most logical fit for the veteran point guard, particularly after Pablo Prigioni was sidelined with a broken toe. However, negotiations between Toronto and New York weren’t believed to be active as of this week.
no way were getting rid of Derozan i’ll lose my mind if they get rid of Derozan, Amir or Valanciunas
I think the way Ujiri handles business that for the right price anyone can be moved. However, Ujiri is smart enough he’s not just going to give anyone away for the sake of tanking.
the raptors have a bad rap because “no one wants to play in canada” so by trading away amir johnson or derozan (american players) players who love to play in toronto doesn’t make sense it makes people less likely to sign here because management has no loyalty towards its players. you cant run a team like a video game where you can trade whoever you want as many times as you want and expect players to respect the franchise. tanking is not worth it! if you trade away our whole team to the point where were the worst in the league the player that we get isn’t necessarily going to be better than the players we’ve took years to develop (like derozan) i believe we should trade away anyone except for derozan valanciunas and johnson
^thats the problem though, derozan has had years to develop and don’t get me wrong he’s a dope player but he could never be the best player on a ‘contending team’. your right, not many players wanna come to Toronto, but I gurantee you derozan cant change that. i mean the guys been in the nba for years and he just learned how to shoot a jumpshot…. this years draft class is DEEP. a top five pick, wiggins or no wiggins, can change everything for the raps. the only guy that shouldnt be traded is JV #tanknation
keep our team-we are getting there !!!
No team is going to want to play Raps in playoffs if we keep this up !
No trades !
This would be the biggest ffffing mistake if mgt trades derozan. flat out I hope raptors fans stop watching this team. I don’t care if Lowry is trade I mean I like him. But his contract is tempting. But you say you wanna listen to other trams for derozan fine. But if you actually trade him for young assets and a draft real bullshit. Especially when he’s young and works hard. Loves this city. And will that’s rite will continue to get better! I hope raptors mgt doesn’t f… This one up. Also screw stupid tanking as well. Since when you play to lose the game. Great raptors fans wanna tank. The ones who don’t pay for tickets and go to games.
Play to win! Plain and simple. Playoffs does bring experience to young guys believe or not you fans who wanna tank.
Ujiri! You’ve done a good job so far, but don’t mess up. You won’t find another player with Derozens skills and character. Trading him will make you the loser, guaranteed! Forget about it!
Nobody is arguing the DeRozan is going to be the best player on a contending team. He could easily be one of the best though, a bigtime starter. With a piddly few exceptions, I’m still not confident that the idea of relying on deep drafts is the way to win. I understand trade high for best value, but are we really gonna ship out one or even two of our most loyal, hard-working glue guys in the hopes that some 19 year olds with bigtime American Hoop dreams are going to deliver on pre-draft hype? Look at how many players go in the first round every year…now show me how many of them not only are still in the NBA, but are core franchise guys. There is maybe a handful per team, and they certainly didn’t all come from the same draft year. We’ve seen so many draft busts in TO and raised so many draft picks to leave for greener pastures, I think you really need to have a strong base of dedicated, consistent guys in a city like ours (which seems to exist outside the bubble of the American NBA) and rely on crafty trades and some deeper picks. I trust Masai based on his miracle working so far, and I love JV and his potential…but let’s be real. We’ve had plenty of ‘sky’s-the-limit-ceiling’ European players bring us nothing but tears, and if the Raps trade Lowry (ok with it, decent value), but also Demar AND Amir…what do we have left? ‘Potential’ with T-Ross, ‘Potential’ with JV, a squad of decent hard-working bench guys, and the hopes that we sneak into the top ten in the lottery to get what…another Bennett or Bargnani? Another Carter, Bosh, or T-Mac? Wiggins would be great for the morale and media (barring a rookie year slump, which would cause the opposite), but I certainly don’t see any of those other cats in the top ten showing TO love or bringing us to glory in the next 5 yrs. I envision Turkoglu syndrome across the board. Hopefully they prove me wrong.
If Lowry and DeRozan are traded, then I propose that Raptor’s management release post the following statement to fans:
“We would like to assure our fans that we are doing our best to build a losing team so we can get a chance at Andrew Wiggins in the lottery next year, even though Jabari Parker is now considered # 1. We are intentionally not putting the best possible product on the floor and hopefully will lose enough games to finish at or near the bottom. As we dismantle the team and unload marquee players we expect fans to spend your hard earned money to watch the remaining pieces that we were unable to unload falter and fight their way to the bottom of the heap. Go Craptors!!”
Tanking, what a joke.
Masai the GM of the Raps is a busy little beaver move the team to BC & start a franchise of Rookies (it;s possible, but not likely)
Keep this team together ! No more trades.
Raps will get to 2nd round, maybe further.
New contract for Lowry is a must !!!