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You handle it by telling hem he can pack his up and leave.
I don't think that we can even get a decent S&T deal for him.
You handle it by telling hem he can pack his up and leave.
I don't think that we can even get a decent S&T deal for him.
DeMar DeRozan
It would have been easy for the former All-Star to look down the roster, see the young faces of Murray, White, Johnson and Walker, and ask not to be part of the youth movement prior to the start of this season. The Spurs were coming off their first non-playoff appearance since 1997 and DeRozan was at a point of his career where contending for championships typically becomes more of a priority for players.
However, DeRozan embraced the youth movement, sacrificing for the better of the team, as he's done since his arrival in 2018. He transitioned to playing both forward positions and increased his efficiency, posting the highest offensive rating of his career.
"He deserved to be on the All-Star team, in my opinion," Popovich said in February. "He's helped us win, put us in good position. He's scored, he's distributed the basketball. His leadership's been amazing."
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DeRozan is coming off a season where he averaged a career high 7.3 assists and ranked in the 100th percentile of all NBA players in assist percentage per Cleaning the Glass, joining Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook in this elite group.
"He seems to never get tired, and he's always ready to go," Popovich said after a recent victory over New Orleans. "He wants the ball, he wants to score, but he'll get it to his teammates if that's appropriate. He loves being in that situation. He's the best on our team with that."
Despite never attempting more than 3.6 3-pointers per game in a season, DeRozan has still averaged at least 20 points per game in each of the past eight seasons, including 21.4 this year. He has one of the most effective midrange games in the NBA and is still performing at an All-Star level as he's set to turn 32 in August. According to ProFitX, DeRozan has outperformed his $27.7 million contract this season by $4 million.
The Spurs currently have an exclusive window to negotiate a new contract for DeRozan in the form of an extension. San Antonio can add an additional four seasons and up to $149.1 million in new money with a starting salary of $33.3 million in 2021-22.
If there is no agreement by Aug. 1, DeRozan would enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. The salary for DeRozan per ProFitX projects to start at $31 million next year (with a low of $24 million).
Supply and demand will be a big factor in determining what DeRozan's next contract will be. The teams outside of San Antonio who project to have cap space are Charlotte, Dallas, Miami and New York. Would the Knicks use their $55 million in room to target DeRozan and his former Toronto Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry? How about the Mavericks adding an established scorer to play alongside Luka Doncic?
If San Antonio decides the cost of re-signing DeRozan is too rich and the four-time All-Star wants to join a team that doesn't have cap space, a sign-and-trade would be an option. However, that would require the Spurs to take back salary into their cap space or redirect those contracts to a third team.
There are three big questions the Spurs will need to ask internally with regards to DeRozan:
- Does paying a 32-year-old player more than $30 million fit the timeline of the current roster?
- Where would DeRozan rank on our free-agent board if he were not on our roster, and would he be a player that we would target with cap space?
- Do we sign DeRozan and utilize him as a trade asset down the road and if so, where would his value be in the second year of the contract?
If the Spurs can answer "yes" to any of the above questions, then there is a deal to be made.
For DeRozan, there is a balancing act of finances and team success.
DeRozan has already earned $178 million in his career. Does a $25 million-$30 million salary outweigh playing for a team that is competing for one of the final playoff spots and is not considered one of the elite teams in the Western Conference?
Note: ProFitX is a dynamic financial and performance index powered by Artificial Intelligence with front-office optics displaying 17 visual and time-series models for 480+ NBA Athletes. The Athledex models historical, dynamic & future performance data to monitor and project insights on contracts, performance, injuries, team fit, development and potential.
Patty Mills and Rudy Gay
On a roster that has been built with youth (outside of DeRozan), veterans Mills and Gay are the primary anchors of a Spurs bench that ranked in the top 10 of the NBA.
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Mills is not your typical free agent in that he has spent all but two of his 12 seasons in a San Antonio uniform and is considered an extension of their coaching staff. Before the All-Star break, Mills was part of the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 13.3 points on 40.2% from 3-point range. Like the entire roster, he struggled in the second half, averaging 8.5 points on 33.9% from 3.
Gay had been a starter for most of his NBA career prior to joining the Spurs, but he accepted a reserve role, coming off the bench in 183 of the 256 games he played in his four seasons in San Antonio. Despite dealing with COVID-19 this season, Gay still managed to average 11.2 points on 38.3% from 3 on 242 attempts, the second highest of his career. Gay has averaged at least 10 PPG in each of his 15 seasons and has become a reliable 3-point threat.
Outside of the Spurs family
When it comes to midmarket teams like San Antonio, cap space can be fool's gold. The free-agency landscape brings a lot of unknowns, and often the pieces to the puzzle that look good on paper do not fit.
Since 2015, the Spurs have twice added free agents to contracts exceeding $15 million: LaMarcus Aldridge in 2015 and Pau Gasol the following year. Both players ended up eventually being bought out by the Spurs.
However, that does not mean the Spurs should not be in a position of spending this offseason. San Antonio has a distinct advantage of being one of five teams with room, a result of only a 3% rise in the salary cap (from $109.1 million to $112 million).
One option would be to sign DeRozan to a $28 million contract, reserve the $4.9 million room exception for Mills and still have $23 million to use on solidifying their bench.
They could also elect to preserve cap space and use their cap space as a trade option for teams looking to shed bad contracts. However, making such trades to ac ulate future draft picks is not something San Antonio is accustomed to.
Offseason cap breakdown
Spurs' Projected Cap SheetSpurs' Projected Depth Chart
PLAYER 2021-22 SALARY 1. Dejounte Murray $15,428,880 2. Derrick White $15,178,571 3. Jakob Poeltl $8,750,000 4. Lonnie Walker IV $4,447,896 5. Devin Vassell $4,235,160 6. Luka Samanic $2,959,080 7. Keldon Johnson $2,145,720 8. Tre Jones $1,517,981 9. Drew Eubanks $1,762,796 (non-guaranteed) 10. DaQuan Jeffries $1,701,593 (team option) 11. DeMar DeRozan1 $39,344,970 (free agent hold) 12. Rudy Gay1 $21,750,000 (free agent hold) 13. Patty Mills1 $19,928,571 (free agent hold) 14. Trey Lyles2 $7,150,000 (free agent hold) 15. Keita Bates-Diop3 $1,669,178 (free agent hold) 16. Quinndary Weatherspoon4 $1,669,178 (free agent hold) 17. Gorgui Dieng5 $1,669,178 (free agent hold) 18. First-rounder $4,154,400 (draft hold) -- DeMarre Carroll $1,242,340 (buyout) Guaranteed contracts $54.7M Partial/non-guaranteed $3.5M Free agent/draft holds $95.7M Dead cap space $1.2M Total $153.4M SALARY CAP $112.8M LUXURY TAX $136.6M 1. Bird 2. Early Bird 3. Restricted Non-Bird 4. Restricted Early Bird 5. Non-Bird
PG SG SF PF C D. Murray D. White L. Walker IV K. Johnson J. Poeltl T. Jones D. Vassell D. JeffriesT L. Samanic D. Eubanks1 1= Partial/non-guaranteed T= Team option
- Starting small forward
- Bench depth at all positions
- Healthy Derrick White
Resources to build the roster
- The draft: First and second round
- Projected $50M+ in cap space
- Own free agents (if cap space is not used)
- Exceptions: $9.5M midlevel and $3.7M biannual or $4.9M room midlevel
- Cash: $5.8 million to send or receive in a trade
Dates to watch
• Drew Eubanks has $500K in guaranteed money, and his $1.76 million contract will be fully guaranteed if he is not waived before Aug. 20. Eubanks appeared in 46 games this season, averaging 5.6 points, 4.2 rebounds in only 13.9 minutes per game. He had a career-high 13 points and 13 rebounds in a start against Phoenix. Expect him to be on the roster after the Aug. 20 deadline.
• The Spurs claimed DaQuan Jeffries right before the end of the regular season. Jeffries appeared in 31 games this year with Sacramento and Houston. The 24-year-old scored in double figures, four times this season, including a season-high 18 points in a loss to Milwaukee. The Spurs have until Aug. 1 to exercise his $1.7 million contract for next year.
Restrictions
• The poison-pill restriction on Derrick White's extension gets lifted on Aug. 3.
• The $1.8 million contract of Drew Eubanks has no trade value currently because it is not guaranteed.
Extension candidates
• There has been a pattern the past two offseasons of former draft picks getting extended. Murray signed a four-year, $64 million extension in 2019 and White agreed to a four-year, $70 million extension in December. Both extensions occurred on the last day of the offseason and the deadline for rookie extensions. We will now see if the Spurs go 3-for-3 with Lonnie Walker IV. The former first-round pick is yet another example of the Spurs' strong player development program. Walker went from playing 29 games in the G League his rookie season to averaging a career high in minutes (25.2) and points (11.3) this past season. Walker is far from a finished product -- he followed up a 23-point game against Philadelphia by scoring just 2 points against Utah the next night. But he has only scratched the surface with regards to his development. There are two schools of thought about an extension: Walker can bet on himself and play out the season, entering the 2022 offseason as one of top shooting guards on the market, or he can go the guaranteed route and take an extension that starts in the $10 million-$12 million range.
The draft
The Spurs have built the foundation of their roster through the draft. Six players on the roster were selected by the Spurs in the first round.
Here's how ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have Charlotte selecting in July:
No. 11 (own): Isaiah Jackson, PF/C, Kentucky
No. 51 (own): Austin Reaves, PG/SG, Oklahoma
The last time San Antonio made a draft-night trade was in 2014 when it moved the 58th and 60th pick to Philadelphia for pick No. 54 (the rights to Nemanja Dangubic). The last time the Spurs made a deal involving a first-round pick was 2011, when they sent George Hill to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for the draft rights to Kawhi Leonard (the No. 15 pick that year), Davis Bertans and Erazem Lorbek.
Interesting.....
So, the Spurs could potentially 'buy' a pick if another first- round prospect falls & they find a cash strapped team not wanting to pay a prospect.
Team needs:
Starting PF! not Small Forward.
Bench depth at pg and SG is way too much. Probably have too much depth there and need to replace it with some bona-fide all-star types.
But that would make it harder to “run it back” which is important “for the culture”
I forgot Lyles was even on this team lol
Uhg what another embarrassing signing by this FO...
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