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With the latest San Antonio Spurs rumors suggesting DeMar DeRozan could be on the move in a sign-and-trade deal this summer, it’s worth exploring which suitors would be most likely to acquire the veteran All-Star.
Using Fanspo.com’s NBA trade machine, and projecting DeRozan’s new contract to be worth $30 million per year — a generous, round number — here are four ideal scenarios in which DeRozan finds a new team and gets the Spurs something back in return.
DeMar DeRozan chases championship on Brooklyn Nets
- Spurs get: Kyrie Irving — OR: DeAndre Jordan and Joe Harris
- Nets get: DeMar DeRozan
This is where things get rather interesting. Considering that James Harden is fully capable of playing as the lead guard alongside Kevin Durant, if anyone on the Brooklyn Nets’ Big Three were to be traded, it’d be Kyrie Irving.
Also worth noting: Gregg Popovich seems like the perfect coach to work with Irving, get his mind in the best possible place and cultivate his growth as a player and person. Acquiring Irving would immediately bring excitement to the Spurs’ franchise.
DeRozan is a capable playmaker but would function just fine at the 2 or 3 spot in a lineup with Durant and Harden. He’d bring more rebounding to the court as well, which is something the Nets definitely need.
If Brooklyn wants to run it back with Irving, KD and Harden, then DeRozan could still be had if the Nets traded away Joe Harris and DeAndre Jordan. Maybe kick in a first-round pick for good measure, if necessary.
Harris seems like an ideal San Antonio player and is an excellent 3-point shooter the Spurs could really use. Jordan is a nice depth piece in the frontcourt, too.
DeMar DeRozan gets homecoming with Los Angeles Lakers
- Spurs get: Dennis Schroder and Kyle Kuzma
- Lakers get: DeMar DeRozan
When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Dennis Schroder, he was coming off a Sixth Man of the Year runner-up season and appeared to make the Purple and Gold’s roster even better. Schroder turned down a four-year, $84 million extension earlier this year, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
That doesn’t look like a good decision now, since Schroder underachieved with the Lakers this season. We’re going to say those contract details are what Schroder will ultimately make on the open market in this sign-and-trade scenario, though, just to simplify things.
The Spurs are always in on international talent, and Schroder is no doubt someone they’re very familiar with. They need a more explosive, higher-upside lead guard in their rotation. Adding a versatile, still-developing forward like Kyle Kuzma could help San Antonio in a big way, too.
This is a win-win. DeRozan, the California native who played at USC, returns home to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while the Spurs get younger and deeper and don’t lose their highest-paid player for nothing.
Philadelphia 76ers land DeMar DeRozan in Ben Simmons blockbuster
- Spurs get: Ben Simmons
- 76ers get: DeMar DeRozan, Lonnie Walker IV, three 1st-round picks
You might be thinking that DeRozan landing with the Philadelphia 76ers wouldn’t exactly solve their point guard problem, yet even with Ben Simmons gone, that’s not the case.
DeRozan finished 11th in the NBA last season with 6.9 assists per contest. He’s a fully capable distributor, and can essentially function as a point forward who can play pick-and-roll with Joel Embiid, create mismatches along with Tobias Harris and kick out to the 76ers’ multitude of 3-point shooters.
Whereas Simmons could get to the rim extremely well and struggled at the free throw line, DeRozan can convert those opportunities as a career 83% shooter from the charity stripe.
All this is to say, while the Sixers will lose some defense with Simmons leaving, they’ll be darn near unstoppable on offense if someone like DeRozan takes over in the starting lineup.
DeMar DeRozan runs it back with Toronto Raptors
- Spurs get: Kelly Oubre Jr. (sign-and-trade), Andrew Wiggins, one 1st-round pick and two 2nd-round picks (via Toronto)
- Warriors get: Pascal Siakam, Lonnie Walker IV and one 1st-round pick (via San Antonio)
- Raptors get: DeMar DeRozan, James Wiseman, Jordan Poole and two 1st-round picks (via Golden State)
How about a fun little three-team trade here to close things out?
The Toronto Raptors will likely want a strong haul for Pascal Siakam, who the Golden State Warriors are rumored to be coveting this offseason. Getting the seventh and 14th overall picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, along with James Wiseman, Jordan Poole, DeRozan sounds pretty good.
If DeRozan were to return to the Raptors, he could wind up being reunited with Kyle Lowry depending on final contract details, or if Lowry is ultimately used as a sign-and-trade piece that Toronto leverages with the No. 1 picks it has in this package.
It’d be amazing to see DeRozan and Lowry together again and helping to usher in a new era of Raptors basketball while trying to get them competitive in the East.
As for the Spurs’ side of this, they’d get two excellent wing players from the Warriors in Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins, not to mention some healthy draft capital to build out their roster for the future.