I certainly think they would have had the talent for it, especially had they let go of Tony instead of Green. Question would have been fit. 2016 was still a year where Leonard was growing into his game, and he wasn't (and still isn't) very good at getting others involved. Aldridge was upset about not getting first-option touches, and I don't know that DeRozan would have helped by getting him better looks or hurt by using more possessions.
Tony used 708 possessions that year (estimate) compared to DeRozan's 2025 (also estimate). We're talking about a player whose touches rivaled Kawhi's and Aldridge's put together. He would have had to have taken a big step back in usage to accommodate two stars, and the bench would have also been affected. Seeing how good the bench was and how far the Spurs ended up going anyway, that type of production swap is not to be taken lightly. DeRozan also only had 290 assists that year against Tony's 285, so it's not like DeMar was a natural play-maker at the time.
Looking back now, I definitely do still get where I was coming from. My main horse that year was Eric Gordon. I thought SA could get him for $8-10 Million APY. He ended up going for $12 Million to Houston. It would have been a decent contract. He is a good player, and he would have helped the team pretty directly. I was willing to have West come back and start to save cap space for the next summer or I was also keen on giving Terrance Jones or Jared Sullinger long-term deals. In short, it was a mix of good and bad ideas. Gasol was okay, though, and Dedmon and Lee ended up giving good-to-great minutes for the team that year. DeRozan as he was back then was a real risk to the team. , only now, this DeRozan -- this year -- is he really playing a style that would have made sense to move so many pieces for. Had he been 15/16 DeRozan on a max salary, it may well have ended up worse.
EDIT to add in the relevant player stat comp:
https://www.basketball-reference.com...01&idx=players