In July 2018, DeMar DeRozan joined the Spurs against his will.
The All-Star guard wanted to remain in Toronto, the only NBA home he had known. Truth be told, the Spurs would have preferred that too.
DeRozan was the centerpiece of the return package in a trade the Spurs didn’t want to make, a swap that sent disgruntled superstar Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors.
In the three seasons since, it is fair to say the Spurs grew on DeRozan just as DeRozan grew on them.
“It’s definitely an honor to play for this organization,” DeRozan said after the Spurs’ season ended with a 100-96 loss at Memphis on Wednesday. “Everything they did for me and how they treated me, it was definitely A1.”
The conspiratorial-minded among Spurs fans might note DeRozan slipped into the past tense when talking about his San Antonio tenure.
What that linguistic shift means as DeRozan prepares to hit this summer’s free agency market is anybody’s guess.
The Spurs will be in position to re-sign the 32-year-old DeRozan this offseason if they desire.
But with the team at a rebuilding crossroads, the Spurs’ level of interest in bringing back DeRozan remains to be seen.
So too does DeRozan’s interest in returning to a team still in the early stages of a reconstruction project yet to produce a playoff berth.
What seems clear for now: When NBA free agency opens Aug. 2, DeRozan is prepared to listen to outside offers for the first time in his 12-year NBA career.
“I’ve never been in this situation before in my career, to be going completely in as a free agent,” said DeRozan, who made $27.7 million this season. “I have no clue (what to expect). It hasn’t been something I’ve thought about or that I can sit up here and say I’ve got options.”
As one of the few All-Star-caliber players expected to be available this summer, DeRozan almost certainly will have them.
Armed with about $60 million in salary cap room, the Spurs will have options as well.
The club will face a choice between using that space on outside free agents or re-signing their own, or saving it altogether to preserve future cap flexibility.
Rudy Gay, Patty Mills, Trey Lyles, Gorgui Dieng, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Keita Bates-Diop will become free agents as well.
Most notable on that list are the 34-year-old Gay and 32-year-old Mills, who at 10 seasons is the longest-tenured player on the Spurs’ roster.
“Obviously, I want them to come back,” center Jakob Poeltl said. “We have great vibes on this team. We have good chemistry. We made some big improvements.
“But the NBA’s a business, and it’s their decision.”
In the meantime, the biggest decision the Spurs will await this summer involves a man who did not score a point this season.
Gregg Popovich, the Spurs’ 72-year-old coach, has taken a season-by-season approach to his job for the past several years.
In typical fashion, Popovich has said nothing about the prospect of returning for a 26th season on the Spurs’ bench.
That decision might not come until after Popovich finishes coaching Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in August.
If Popovich stays on as the longest-running coach in North American sports, the roster he leads likely will look different than the one that finished 33-39 this season and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
DeRozan led the Spurs in scoring at 21.6 points and logged a career-best 6.9 assists.
The Spurs don’t necessarily view him as a hindrance to their ongoing youth movement.
“DeMar has totally bought into trying to play a movement game on offense,” Popovich said. “He’s always been a good leader, and he’s improved his all-around game beyond just being able to score.”
DeRozan, too, said he enjoys his role as a mentor and elder statesman on a young roster.
He is not opposed to sticking around to help lead the Spurs’ rebuilding effort.
“I’m not just a teammate of these guys, I’m a fan of them,” DeRozan said. “When I lend a helping hand and see those guys be receptive to whatever I tell them and it works, it feels good to see.”
Still, DeRozan appears set to test the market in August.
This year’s free-agent class will include up to three 2021 All-Stars: Leonard, who now plays for the L.A. Clippers; Utah guard Mike Conley; and Phoenix guard Chris Paul. Leonard and Paul have player options.
DeRozan would be the next-most-attractive name on that list, and certain to draw suitors.
In the moments after the Spurs’ loss in Memphis, DeRozan was uninterested in looking too far beyond the plane ride home to San Antonio
“I’m still thinking about how we could have won, how we could have kept playing,” DeRozan said. “Having to go sit on the plane with those guys and try to keep them upbeat, that’s my focus right now.”
Whether that flight was DeRozan’s last on the Spurs’ team plane is a question that will be answered in the months to come.
jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN
