DeMar DeRozan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Rumors: Gordon, DeRozan, Russell, Isaac

November 15th, 2019 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have been at the center of a pair of intriguing early-season reports this week, with a Wednesday report suggesting Orlando has expressed interest in DeMar DeRozan, while a Friday story indicated that teams are monitoring Aaron Gordon with potential interest in a trade.

That report on Gordon, from Shams Charania of The Athletic, made it clear that the Magic have expressed no interest in moving the young forward. However, Sean Deveney of Forbes.com hears that there are some concerns that Gordon might not fit be an ideal long-term fit alongside Jonathan Isaac.

Could the Magic and Spurs explore a trade centered around DeRozan and Gordon then? Probably not, according to Deveney, who writes that the Magic would be reluctant to give up a significant package for the Spurs’ guard, who could reach the free agent market next summer if he turns down his 2020/21 player option. Even if Orlando did become open to moving Gordon, it wouldn’t be for a rental.

Here’s more on the Magic, via Deveney:

While the Magic have starting looking into possible trades to address their offense, no deals are around the corner, a source with knowledge of the club’s thinking tells Deveney. “You’ve got a lot of players dealing with some shooting slumps and that is going to turn around, those players are going to get back to their usual percentages,” that source said. “So everyone does due diligence on the market but it doesn’t seem like anything is about to come down. If you make a move now with the offense at a low point, it’s like you’re selling low. See who comes back, who bounces back. Then go from there. It’s far away and a lot can change.”
Deveney identifies D’Angelo Russell as one player who could pique the Magic’s interest once he becomes trade-eligible, since Orlando considered him in free agency this past summer.
For now, Orlando is banking on offensive improvements from within. As Deveney outlines, the team is willing to be patient with young players like Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, since there are indications that Fultz’s shot could come around and that Isaac is “just scratching the surface of his offensive potential.”

Magic Have Expressed Interest In DeMar DeRozan

November 13th, 2019 at 6:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In an excellent piece covering the state of the Spurs, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reports the Magic have expressed interest in Spurs wing DeMar DeRozan.

O’Connor notes that the Magic are “scouring the trade market for scoring help,” meaning the team has likely kicked the tires on players besides DeRozan. KOC goes on to indicate that front office executives around the NBA wouldn’t be shocked if San Antonio dealt the 30-year-old four-time All-Star, who sports a famously archaic shot profile.

DeRozan has a $27.7MM player option on the final year of his contract, for the 2020/21 season. Were he to decline it, he could top-line a fairly lackluster free agent class. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, DeRozan and San Antonio struggled to find common ground while negotiating a possible extension prior to this season. The maximum potential value of an extension for DeRozan would be approximately $150MM over four years. Given that DeRozan would be 35 by the end of that deal, San Antonio’s probable reticence feels sensible.

The Magic’s anemic offense could use the help. The 3-7 Magic’s 98.1 points scored per game currently ranks them dead-last in the NBA. And the Knicks play in the NBA! Orlando also ranks 29th in offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions).

HoopsHype’s Bryan Kalbrosky took a detailed look at the midrange-happy DeRozan’s potential offensive fit on Orlando. Kalbrosky notes that DeRozan’s proclivity for mid-range jumpers would fit in well with Orlando, as the team currently ranks third in the NBA in mid-range frequency, according to Cleaning The Glass.

In ten games, DeRozan has attempted just four three-pointers. He has missed them all. Despite this, his excellent handle and size make him a great drive-and-kick cog in any offense. He is currently averaging 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, while shooting 49.3% from the floor and 77.2% from the charity stripe.

If the Magic were to make an offer for DeRozan, they’d almost certainly want to hang onto Jonathan Isaac and would likely aim to keep Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon as well. That might mean starting with Evan Fournier ($17.15MM) for salary-matching purposes. The team has a couple intriguing young prospects in Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba, and has all its future first- and second-round draft picks available.

Spurs, DeMar DeRozan Not Close On Extension

October 22nd, 2019 at 7:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

DeMar DeRozan and the Spurs continue to talk about the possibility of a contract extension, Sam Amick of The Athletic hears. However, the two sides are far apart.

DeRozan’s current deal runs through the 2020/21 season, though the final year is a player option worth roughly $27.7MM.

DeRozan could opt to hit the open market next summer or wait until the 2021 offseason. In either situation, he’s likely be considered one of the best players on the market. A max extension for the shooting guard would come in a roughly $150MM over four years, though it would require him to turn down his player option (as in it would run through the 2023/24 season).

San Antonio would prefer a two-year extension, which would give the franchise flexibility in the future. DeRozan previously indicated that he hasn’t spent much time worrying about an extension with the Spurs.

“That’s not on my mind,” DeRozan said. “My focus is to go out there and hoop. How everything will unfold, that’s how it will unfold.”

Southwest Notes: Caboclo, Brooks, Wright, DeRozan

October 6th, 2019 at 6:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The move toward small-ball lineups throughout the league has convinced the Grizzlies to often utilize Bruno Caboclo as an undersized center, Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic reports. Caboclo needs to show his versatility to stay on the roster, since his salary of $1,845,301 doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10. He played 34 games with Memphis last season, including 19 starts.

“We’ll probably utilize him in a lot of different spots, four and five,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We put him at (center) in Summer League and are just really getting him comfortable offensively where he has to be at his spots on the floor.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Dillon Brooks is looking to secure the shooting guard spot in the Grizzlies‘ lineup after an injury-marred second year in his NBA career, Michael Wallace of the team’s website writes. He appeared in all 82 games as a rookie but lost his starting spot last season, then wound up playing just 18 games due to a toe injury that required season-ending surgery. “It really humbled me and made me take the game more professionally,” Brooks said of last season to Wallace. “At first, with the glitz and glamour and all that other stuff, it kind of came too fast to me. Once it got taken away, it was like, ‘I’ve got to be serious. Be professional, but still have fun with it and understand that (basketball) always comes first.’ That’s what I’ve been doing throughout the summer.”
Delon Wright believes he’ll have a breakout season after joining the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade with the Grizzlies, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News relays. “I feel like I’m at that point of my career where it’s time,” Wright said. Wright, who could be paired in the backcourt with Luka Doncic, received a three-year deal worth just over $30MM.
An extension might be the way to go for both the Spurs and DeMar DeRozan, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express News opines. A report surfaced on Friday that the two parties were in extension talks. As previously noted, the 30-year-old DeRozan could get a maximum of approximately $149MM over four years, starting in 2020/21. That would require him to decline his 2020/21 player option and replace it with the first year of the extension.

Spurs, DeMar DeRozan Discussing Extension

October 4th, 2019 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs and star guard DeMar DeRozan are having discussions about a potential contract extension, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. However, Charania cautions that nothing is imminent.

We heard nearly two months ago that the Spurs value DeRozan enough to keep him around long-term and hadn’t ruled out the possibility of offering him a maximum extension.

In DeRozan’s case, the most he could get on a new deal would be approximately $149MM over four years, starting in 2020/21. That would require him to decline his 2020/21 player option, replacing it with the first year of a new extension, which could be worth up to 120% of his current $27.74MM salary.

DeRozan, a 10-year NBA veteran, turned 30 years old this summer, so investing heavily in his age 31-34 seasons would be a risk for San Antonio. The Spurs haven’t been averse to that sort of deal in the past — two Octobers ago, they signed LaMarcus Aldridge to an extension at age 32. But Aldridge’s new deal only tacked on two years to his existing contract and isn’t fully guaranteed in its final season. The club might want to hedge its bets in a similar manner in its offer to DeRozan.

Of course, given how relatively weak the 2020 free agent class projects to be, DeRozan can reasonably expect to receive a big payday if he opts to reach the open market next July. So an extension offer from San Antonio would have to be lucrative enough to convince him to forgo free agency.

For his part, the four-time All-Star said this week at Media Day that he isn’t spending much time thinking about his contract situation, as Charania relays.

“That’s not on my mind,” DeRozan said. “My focus is to go out there and hoop. How everything will unfold, that’s how it will unfold.”

DeMar DeRozan In Line For Max Extension?

August 11th, 2019 at 2:22pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News, the Spurs have not ruled out the possibility of offering four-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan a maximum contract extension, which DeRozan became eligible for on July 14.

Per Finger, despite some outside speculation that DeRozan could be used as trade bait this offseason, the Spurs generally value the 30-year-old shooting guard’s presence in San Antonio and want to keep him around.

DeRozan’s current contract runs through the 2020/21 season, so a maximum contract extension would put DeRozan under contract with the Spurs through the 2023/24 campaign.

As for the value of the potential new contract, DeRozan’s salary for both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons is approximately $27.7MM, so a max extension would see DeRozan earn $33.3MM, $36MM, and $38.6MM per season from the 2021/22 season to the end of the contract.

The total value of the new five-year contract would be $163,332,973, which just exceeds the value of Kristaps Porzingis‘ five-year contract with the Mavericks but falls short of Khris Middleton‘s new five-year contract with the Bucks.

Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan Out Of World Cup

July 23rd, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan are the latest NBA stars to pass up a chance to join Team USA for the FIBA World Cup, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Lillard, who agreed to a super-max extension with the Trail Blazers earlier this month, was rumored to be on the fence about playing in the tournament. DeRozan was added to the original list of training camp invites about a month ago, but he has elected to focus on the upcoming season.

That’s a common reason given by many of the stars who have withdrawn from camp, a list that also includes Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum and Eric Gordon. A decision is expected soon from Kevin Love, while Kyle Lowry is recovering from a surgical procedure on his thumb and isn’t guaranteed to be physically ready for competition.

One player who is definitely remaining with the team is Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The camp will run from August 5-8, with the tournament scheduled for August 31 to September 14 in China.

Western Notes: Thompson, Spurs, Allen

June 25th, 2019 at 6:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Klay Thompson would be open to a meeting with the Clippers should the Warriors not present him with a max salary offer at the start of free agency, Adrian Wojnarowski said on the network’s free agency special. Thompson is expected to re-sign in Golden State.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

San Antonio could be a fit for Trevor Ariza, Jabari Young of The Athletic writes. Ariza earned $15MM last season on a one-year deal and the Spurs had interest in him last summer, Young hears. Ariza is a candidate for the mid-level exception.
The Spurs have kept a close eye on Amir Johnson since he played in Toronto, Young adds in the same piece. Young speculates that the 32-year-old big man could be a fit in San Antonio, citing his close relationship with DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay.
Grayson Allen, who was traded to the Grizzlies in the Mike Conley deal, aims to improve his defense during Summer League, as he tells David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “When I tell you I’m going to work on defense this summer, I don’t think many people picture guys in summer workouts doing defensive slides,” Allen said. “…But for me it’s going to be continuing to work on that footwork on the defensive end, getting my body in great shape, great conditioning going into summer league and the season.”

Knicks Notes: Free Agency, Fine, Iguodala, Kings Trade

June 24th, 2019 at 6:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks are hoping to land at least one of the marquee free agents — Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard or Kyrie Irving — but if they come up short, they won’t eat up their cap space with multi-year contracts, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports. They don’t want to take on a bad contract in order to accumulate more assets. It’s uncertain if they’d trade for a player with a big contract in his walk year.

Instead, they will most likely sign free agents to one-year deals, much like the Lakers did last summer after LeBron James committed to them, in order to retain cap flexibility. The New York Daily News’ Stefan Bondy reiterates that sentiment, adding that the Knicks could shift gears and go after Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Draymond Green, Ben Simmons and Pascal Siakam next summer.

We have more on the Knicks:

The team was fined $50K by the league for violating rules regarding equal access for media, according to a league press release. The Knicks did not allow Bondy access to their post-draft press conference on Friday while allowing all other credentialed media who cover the team to attend. The organization has agreed to comply with media access rules in the future.
Warriors forward Andre Iguodala took a jab at the organization and its pursuit of major free agents, including his teammate Durant, Ethan Sears of the New York Post relays. In an interview with CNBC, Iguodala said, “Nobody’s gonna sign with the Knicks, sorry.”
The Knicks gave up $1MM in cash along with the No. 55 pick to the Kings on Thursday, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. New York moved up to the No. 47 spot and chose University of Michigan forward Ignas Brazdeikis. The Kings selected Virginia’s Kyle Guy.

Popovich Expected To Continue Coaching Spurs

April 28th, 2019 at 9:09am CST by Arthur Hill

Gregg Popovich is expected to return to the Spurs next season, with one member of the team’s staff telling Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express News that he has “no doubt” about the legendary coach’s future. Popovich’s current contract expired when San Antonio’s playoff run ended last night. He will coach Team USA in the FIBA World Cup this summer, but has remained guarded about his plans beyond that.

“I’m a head coach in the NBA,” Popovich said in response to a pre-game question Saturday on whether he was considering retirement. “I don’t think about what that means in the future.”

At age 70, Popovich still embraces the challenges of coaching and had a particularly good time this season, notes Jabari Young of The Athletic. In looking for clues about his future, Young cites a quote from Popovich before a March game in Boston.

“This is actually one of the more enjoyable seasons,” he said. “It’s been fun to watch Bryn Forbes develop, and Davis Bertans, and Derrick White and so forth. It’s satisfying.”

The chance to reach a milestone may also play into Popovich’s thought process. He moved into third place on the career victories list this season with 1,245 and is just 90 away from catching Don Nelson for the top spot.

There’s more on the offseason decisions facing the Spurs:

Rudy Gay will be the team’s only significant free agent this summer, but San Antonio has to decide how much it wants to invest in a player who will be 33 by the start of training camp. The Spurs will have Early Bird rights on Gay, Young notes, meaning they can offer up to a 75% raise on his $10MM contract. Gay will be eligible for a one- to four-year deal starting at about $17MM per season.
Regardless of what happens with Gay, San Antonio will likely be operating above the salary cap but under the tax line, Young adds. That will give the team a $9.2MM mid-level exception to use on the free agent market.
It’s not too early to start thinking about DeMar DeRozan‘s free agency, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN. DeRozan can decide next summer to opt out of his $27.7 million salary for 2020/21, and could join Draymond Green and possibly Anthony Davis as the top names in an otherwise sub-par free agent class. The Spurs can eliminate that possibility by reworking DeRozan’s contract when he becomes eligible for a four-year, $149.1MM extension on July 6.
The Spurs also face a difficult decision on Dejounte Murray, who will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension through October 21, according to Marks. Murray appears to have a bright future, but he is coming off a torn ACL that wiped virtually his entire season. Jakob Poeltl is also eligible for a rookie scale extension, but by waiting on both players and DeRozan, the Spurs could have up to $30MM in cap room to spend next summer.
Patty Mills will be eligible for a veteran extension on August 4, and LaMarcus Aldridge becomes eligible on October 1, Marks adds.