Toronto Raptors: Enjoy DeMar DeRozan While You Can

Apr 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) reacts to an officials decision in the third quarter in game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Wizards beat raptors 117 - 106. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing is certain. That much we know, for certain.

DeMar DeRozan will be playing for the Toronto Raptors this year with a little added incentive to do well and stay out of the way of injury: he will very likely be headed for free agency. This means that we’ll likely see the mercurial player put his best foot forward and hopefully have some big performances on the way to a great season.

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But let’s be real. The Raptors aren’t winning the NBA title this season. They probably won’t even be getting out of the East. So even while the best-case scenario for fans this season is that DeRozan improves upon previous years, the end result will likely be the same–the looming beast that is free agency.

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DeMar has never tested the free-agent waters in his NBA career. He last signed a four-year extension back in 2012, when the franchise looked a lot different and he was 23 years old. But now he’s 26, and the water has never been at a more perfect temperature to take a dip.

Around the league, players and teams who are talking about deals are having difficulties agreeing on terms. Tristan Thompson and the Cavaliers are reportedly still $14 million apart, and more recently Harrison Barnes rejected the Warriors’ reasonable offer of four years, $64 million.

Why? Because the cap keeps going up, up, up and these young guys want to bet on themselves. They want to see what they’re worth on the market. They want to see who will shovel out an insane amount of dough for them that some other teams (especially the ones they currently reside on) will not.

And while it might be true that players like DeRozan, Thompson or Barnes aren’t max players, that doesn’t mean some team isn’t going to give them that with the cap allowing for so much space.

The max that Toronto could do this season would be to have DeRozan opt out of his $10.1 million player option for 2016-17 and then pay him $34.8 million for the next three seasons. It will be easy for him to get more than that in free agency (especially if he has a strong season).

At 26, DeRozan is smack dab in the middle of his prime. He’s a legitimate wing threat, who can shoot the mid-range jumper moderately well and is great at attacking the basket and getting to the foul line. He runs the floor extremely well and isn’t afraid to take big shots. On a championship team, he could be a key role player.

At the very least, DeRozan isn’t going to put fans through an uncomfortable situation as the season runs. Masai Ujiri has already stated that the club isn’t going to be in talks with the shooting guard about an extension during the 82-game slog. The Raptors, like many other teams, will make their play in the offseason.

As we all know or learn (usually the hard way) at some point, the NBA is a business first and foremost. I’m not going to make any ludicrous statements about what DeRozan will decide to do when he’s a free agent, but the possibility that Toronto won’t offer him what he wants is very real, depending, of course, on a variety of other factors that will play out in time.

In short, I simply mean that this may be the last year DeMar DeRozan is a Toronto Raptor. I motion we enjoy him while we can.

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