DeMar DeRozan To Exercise 2020/21 Player Option

Spurs wing DeMar DeRozan will exercise his player option for 2020/21, putting off free agency for another year, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The move will guarantee DeRozan’s $27,739,975 salary.

DeRozan, 31, had a strong season for San Antonio in 2019/20, averaging 22.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 5.5 RPG with an impressive .531 FG% in 68 games (34.1 MPG).

Back in March, before the season went on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, one report suggested that DeRozan would likely opt out if he didn’t receive an extension from the Spurs, while a separate report indicated the veteran scorer wasn’t thrilled with his situation in San Antonio.

The financial impact of the pandemic made DeRozan’s decision to opt in a fairly simple one, however. Only two or three teams will have the cap room necessary to have matched his option salary, and those teams finished in the lottery and may not have made DeRozan a top priority. He’ll be better off trying his luck on the open market in 2021, when more clubs will have cap flexibility.

Of course, just because DeRozan is under contract for one more year, that doesn’t mean he’ll spend the entire season with the Spurs. San Antonio is believed to be shopping some of its veterans, including DeRozan, who reportedly drew interest from the Lakers before they agreed to acquire Dennis Schröder. We’ll see if any other suitors pop up in the coming days for the former Raptor.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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