NBA Trade Rumors: Now Is the Right Time for the Toronto Raptors to Sell High on DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is coming off what is arguably the best season of his career
The 2017–18 Toronto Raptors were supposed to be the exception.
Where their predecessors fell, these Raptors were supposed to rise. While the old Raptors teams bowed to LeBron James, this year's iteration was supposed to dethrone the King.
Things did not turn out as planned for the Raptors, however.
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Instead of being the team to topple James and the Cavaliers, they were the ones that ended up being eliminated quickly, as they dropped their second-round series 4–0.
Just like that, the greatest regular season in Raptors history was over.
Now, the Raptors have to figure out what's next for them.
Head coach Dwane Casey has already been dismissed, and there's a real possibility that one of the team's resident All-Stars could follow him out of Toronto.
In a recent newsletter, The New York Times' Marc Stein reported that the Raptors discreetly explored trade possibilities for DeRozan last offseason.
Obviously, whatever was out there last summer was not enough to convince the Raptors to part with DeRozan, so he stayed with the team. After the way this season played out, though, Stein is now speculating that the Raptors may gauge the market for DeRozan again.
DeRozan is due plenty of money over the next few seasons. He's set to earn over $55 million over the next two seasons, and if he exercises his player option for the 2020–21 season, then he'll make an additional $27.7 million, per Spotrac.
That's a big contract and precisely the kind that even talent-needy teams may be hesitant to trade for.
Still, if the Raptors want to trade DeRozan, now is the time for them to convince other teams that he's a good addition.
DeRozan is fresh off what was arguably the best regular season of his career. He showed off new dimensions of his game, as he became more of a facilitator and a threat from long-range. DeRozan's probably never going to be the best player on a championship team, but he can be a good secondary option on a contender.
The Raptors can even sell a team on DeRozan's growth this season and hint that now that he's learned to pass more and shoot three-pointers with greater confidence, that he's set to turn into an even better player than what he already is.
Teams desperate to make the playoffs, or at least remain in playoff contention, may look at what DeRozan did this past season and decide that he is someone worth taking a chance on.
In all likelihood, the Raptors will struggle to obtain an equivalent value for DeRozan given the money remaining on his deal, but even so, they should acquire some players who may be able to help them out right away.
If the Raptors still opt against trading DeRozan this offseason, then that likely means that he will remain on the team until his current contract expires.
For the Raptors, that could lead to more 50-win seasons, but that could also lock them into the status of being a second-tier contender.
More news about the latest NBA trade rumors should be made available soon.
