DeMar DeRozan landing spots: Five teams that make sense for newly available veteran scorer

The Sacramento Kings waived DeMar DeRozan Monday in a financially driven move. The Kings entered this offseason far above the luxury-tax line, but waiving DeRozan saves them at least $15.7 million, as only $10 million of his $25.7 million salary was guaranteed. If the Kings choose to stretch that money over the next three seasons, their short-term savings get even bigger. The rebuilding Kings are moving in a direction. They no longer had a spot for an aging former All-Star.

Some other team inevitably will. DeRozan is expected to find a robust market in free agency. What sort of team will he land with? Well, history suggests that if someone is willing to pay him decent money, they’re the best bet. When DeRozan became a free agent in 2021 and 2024, rumors about him taking a pay cut to join a contender were frequent. On neither occasion did he actually do so. If there’s a team willing to throw, say, the mid-level exception his way, they would seemingly be on the table. There are probably more minutes available for him on a bad team than a good one.

But DeRozan is entering his age-37 season. He remains a highly productive individual scorer (he scored 18.4 points per game last season and ranks 18th all-time in NBA history with 26,711 career points), but think about the analytics-driven dismissal of Jaylen Brown in the wake of his stunning trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. The on-off numbers have always disliked DeRozan. He neither shoots 3s nor defends. Throw in his age, and these are the sort of players NBA teams no longer seem especially eager to invest in.

At this point, taking a lower salary to join a contender may no longer be a choice. It might just be the best option available to him. So who’s possible here? Let’s run through a few possibilities.

Whoever misses out on LeBron James

Right now, at least six teams are patiently awaiting an answer from LeBron James about whether or not he’ll play for them. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers are both so heavy on shot-creation at this stage that none would be a fit. The other three teams all make varying degrees of sense:

• The Denver Nuggets have a severe lack of dribbling outside of Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. DeRozan doesn’t exactly fit their off-ball motion-heavy offense around Jokić, but he could keep the bench offense afloat, and Denver has played elite offense without maxing out 3-point volume in the past, so it is about as well-equipped as any team could be to deal with DeRozan’s less-than-ideal shot selection. Denver ranked fourth in free-throw rate last season, and throwing DeRozan into the mix could nudge them up to No. 1.
• The Miami Heat have been linked to DeRozan through several transaction cycles, and they badly need another creator with so much of their offense currently hinging on Giannis Antetokounmpo. DeRozan doesn’t shoot nearly as well as they need, but beggars can’t be choosers at this price point, and DeRozan’s ability to lead bench units would be critical here.
• DeRozan’s playing style would be almost antithetical to the free-flowing offense Steve Kerr has built for the Golden State Warriors, but someone other than Stephen Curry needs to generate offense while Jimmy Butler is out. The Warriors will have plenty of financial flexibility while they await Jimmy Butler’s return from a torn ACL, so they could potentially pay DeRozan more than the minimum (that is, unless they dip into that flexibility to retain Quentin Post on the three-year, $30 million offer sheet that the Memphis Grizzlies gave him).

Toronto Raptors

Once upon a time, the Raptors traded DeRozan to land Kawhi Leonard. Since then, they’ve lost and reacquired Leonard. With DeRozan now available as a free agent, the Raptors could finally unite the two as they attempt to make it back to the peak that only the original Leonard-DeRozan deal ever took them to.

Does the fit make sense? I’d call myself a skeptic. The Raptors are already pretty light on shooting, having just ranked 25th in the NBA in 3-point attempt rate. Leonard plays slow, but the rest of the Raptors play fast, and introducing another slow-it-down ball-handler risks disturbing this team’s transition identity. Toronto has stacked strong defenders everywhere. Why mess with that over a sentimental reunion?

It comes down to how much faith Toronto has in its ability to score when Leonard is on the bench. If the Raptors want to have a spare half-court shotmaker, sure, DeRozan at the minimum is good bang for their buck. But with Scottie Barnes ascending into true stardom last season, it feels likelier that Toronto just staggers him and Leonard and trusts Barnes to generate their offense when Kawhi rests. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but it’s not the cleanest fit either.

New York Knicks

What sort of role is DeRozan demanding at this point? The Knicks are looking for a spare bench ball-handler, someone to fill the Jordan Clarkson role from last season. DeRozan is overqualified. Maybe the Knicks could open up more minutes by trading Deuce McBride in a deal for a center. That’s probably on the table anyway with McBride entering a contract year. But that deal probably has to wait for the season, and either way, shots are minimal in New York. DeRozan is incompatible with Jalen Brunson. Because of his shooting, he might be incompatible with Josh Hart as well.

But DeRozan is represented by CAA, which means the Knicks know him well. He also played briefly for Mike Brown in Sacramento, so the Knicks have all of the information they’ll need here. If they think he’d fit into a smaller role, it’s not a crazy talent play. Clarkson wasn’t a staple in the playoff rotation, but he did his job when the Knicks needed him to. If a 37-year-old DeRozan is willing to do the same, maybe this could work.