Raptors lined up to bring back franchise legend to play with Kawhi Leonard
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Raptors lined up to bring back franchise legend to play with Kawhi Leonard originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Raptors are still hoping the Kawhi Leonard trade from the Los Angeles Clippers can go through without any more hitches.
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In the meantime, they're looking for other veteran contributors to help their roster, and one name stands out about all the rest: DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan is one of the best players in franchise history.
He's also a free agent. The Sacramento Kings cut him loose earlier this offseason, and DeRozan is now considering his options.
He averages 21 points per game in his career, and he still dropped 18 per game last season.
With the Raptors, DeRozan wouldn't have as big a role, but that's probably fine with him. There'd be plenty of special nostalgia surrounding a DeRozan return.
And it sounds possible. The Toronto Star's Doug Smith reports that DeRozan and the Raptors have spoken and that there'd be interest in making a deal work.
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The biggest issue could be money.
Smith notes that the Raptors could offer the veteran minimum, $3.8 million, to DeRozan, but not any more than that.
Smith also writes, "Whether the Raptors could even create a roster spot is also a question."
So yep, this isn't straightforward, but it's also a conversation that appears to be ongoing, and one that both sides would likely love to pull off if they can figure out all the details.
DeRozan back in a Raptors jersey would be a fun way for him to close out his NBA career, so there'll be a lot of interested eyes watching to see if it comes to fruition.