DeMar DeRozan has agreed to a five-year deal worth $139 million to stay with the Toronto Raptors, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania:
DeMar DeRozan has agreed to a five-year, $139 million-plus deal with Toronto, sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
DeRozan had made it known he wanted to stay with the Raptors, saying in February that Toronto “is home”:
“My whole mindset has always been this is home for me,” DeRozan said in an interview that will air in full on Saturday’s Meet the All-Stars show on ESPN Radio at 5:30 p.m. “I never think otherwise unless it’s brought up to me, or you see things, or people ask you about certain things.
“This has always been home to me. I took pride in putting on this Toronto Raptors jersey since I’ve been drafted here. And my whole goal was to get this team to the point where it is now. And I feel I’ve been a major key to that.”
And the feeling was certainly mutual; the Raptors were going to do everything they could to lock up their 26-year-old star shooting guard.
In 2015-2016 DeRozan had the best season of his career, in the best season in Raptors franchise history. He averaged 23.5 points per game on 44.6% shooting from the field, and his 21.58 Player Efficiency Rating was second-best among shooting guards in the NBA. He also has the ideal size — 6’7″, 220 pounds — and athleticism NBA teams covet in swingmen.
This would be a big move for any franchise, but it’s an especially big one for a Toronto Raptors franchise that hasn’t had too many homegrown stars over the years. DeRozan, was the No. 9 overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Raptors out of USC, and he’s definitely lived up to that selection over his seven NBA seasons. And he’s now been rewarded for that with a lucrative long-term deal.
[Yahoo]
