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The San Antonio Spurs should not extend DeMar DeRozan this summer

ByAndrew Ites|
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- JANUARY 12: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 12, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- JANUARY 12: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs handles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 12, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)

DeMar DeRozan is eligible for a contract extension this summer, but it would not be a wise move for the San Antonio Spurs to give him a new deal.

The San Antonio Spurs will be entering the second year of the DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge era this season.

With the addition of DeMarre Carroll, a healthy Dejounte Murray, and a second year in the system for DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl, the Spurs are hoping to improve on their first round exit of last season.

Before they get to the regular season in October, they’ve got to make some difficult decisions like whether to give DeMar DeRozan a contract extension or let him enter what could be the final year of his current deal.

DeRozan is going into the fourth year of a four-year contract that has a player option for a fifth season.

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If the Spurs let DeMar play out the final year of his contract, he could choose to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason while San Antonio runs the risk of losing him for nothing.

Once the new season begins on July 6th, San Antonio can offer DeRozan a contract extension to avoid that scenario.

It’s hard to guage what DeRozan’s market would be if he hit the open market. His midrange-based game isn’t a perfect fit in today’s NBA, most teams won’t have much cap space in the summer of 2020, and the 2021 free agent class is pretty loaded with talent which could drive down DeMar’s value.

I’ve suggested that the Spurs trade DeRozan while he has some value with a year left on his contract before they could possibly lose him for nothing next July.

If San Antonio can’t get adequate value back for him in a trade, I still wouldn’t give him an extension.

We’ve seen the ceiling that a team has when DeMar is one of their best players, and the 29-year-old DeRozan is not on the same timeline as the Spurs’ young core that could make up the next great team in San Antonio.

With DeRozan, Aldridge, Rudy Gay, Patty Mills, and DeMarre Carroll‘s contracts all set to come off of the books after the 2020 season, the Spurs could have the cap space to go big game hunting in free agency and add a star to their already-promising young core.

Extending DeMar’s contract would prevent San Antonio from going after anyone in that talented 2021 free agent class and it would take away some of the financial flexibility the front office could have in two years.

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While it would be nice to lock up an All-Star for at least a few more years in San Antonio, I don’t think giving an expensive contract extension to DeMar DeRozan this offseason would be a good choice for the future of this franchise.

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