DeMar DeRozan has been one of the top names swirling in recent trade rumors, but the San Antonio Spurs shooting guard could be heading into a dry free-agent market in 2020, with very few teams able to sign him.
According to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks, only the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Memphis Grizzlies will have enough money to sign him to a max deal — and the prospect of that happening is very slim, considering his age and retro style of play.
“I like DeRozan as my third option, and those type of players are not earning near max-type money,” a league executive told ESPN.
The Orlando Magic have expressed willingness to trade for DeRozan in the past, but there haven't been many other palpable requests to acquire the mid-range artist.
DeMar DeRozan has bent back to his old ways, once again a reluctant 3-point shooter that gets most of his buckets by means of slashing to the basket or pulling up from mid-range. That itself gives teams some pause, despite having vastly improved as a playmaker in the past few seasons.
The Spurs can elect to keep DeRozan through the deadline and let the market dictate his next deal if he opts out of the last $27.7 million of his contract. But if he walks for nothing, the Spurs will be over the cap and unable to replace him in free agency — adding to the list of issues at hand.
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