Well, you can’t just leave money out of the equation. If he was willing to say for Bryn Forbes money, fine, sure. But that is not the case. He wants to get a max deal and even if the does not get that, you are looking at 3/75 at least. No way at 25M is it even worth a discussion with his metrics.
Like I said, he plays with the same guys everyone else does yet the team consistently is better with him off the court vs on.
Can he be a player on a winning team? Yes. Is he the most “talented” player the Spurs? Yes. Does it make sense at his age, with his impact to sink more money into him and do the type of work it would take to build a perfect team around him to where you can cover up for all his weaknesses in order to have a shot at winning? Absolutely not - especially since he’s aging and will not be improving.
And I think it’s somewhat the opposite of what you are saying. Moving on from DeRozan means you need to see how the youth does without him and if you can have a good offense without him (because the defense you know for sure will improve). That’s what you have to find out.