As reported by The Vertical’s Shams Charania, the Toronto Raptors, and DeMar DeRozan have agreed on a five-year deal. The deal is expected to be worth $145-million and does not include a player option.
Career overview
The 26-year-old shooting guard was drafted by the Raptors in 2009 and has spent all seven years of his NBA career in Toronto. A two-time All-Star, DeRozan has improved every single year with the Raptors helping them get to the postseason in each of the past three seasons. This past season, the 6’7”, 220 lb, wingman was an integral component of the team’s playoff run which took them to the Eastern Conference Finals where they won two games against the eventual-champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Last season, in a contract year, DeRozan had the best season of his career. The seven-year Raptor dropped a career-high 23.5 points per game on 44.6 percent shooting and dished out 4.0 assists per game in 78 games last season. His strong offensive numbers earned himself a reserve position on the Eastern Conference All-Star Team where he joined teammate Kyle Lowry for the All-Star Game in Toronto.
With the NBA salary cap expected to rise to around $94-million, DeRozan was certain to cash in a big deal this summer after such a great season. The only question that arose was whether or not DeRozan would remain in the city he has called home for the past seven years or look elsewhere. Many teams were reportedly interested in DeRozan including his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. However, DeRozan has always expressed his desire to remain a Raptor for the long-term future, and this new deal proves how committed to Toronto he really is.
DeRozan, Raptors looking to take next step
After finishing second in the East last season with 56 wins and coming within two games of the NBA Finals, re-signing DeRozan was Toronto’s top priority coming into the offseason. Now, with DeRozan committed to Toronto for the next five seasons, the Raptors find themselves with the same core of Lowry, DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, and DeMarre Carroll, that took them as far as they have ever gone before last season. With these key pieces in place, it will be interesting to see what other moves Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri will make to take his team to the next level.