A day after signing fourth-year swingman DeMar DeRozan to a four-year contract extension worth $38 million, Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo was on hand to explain a decision that — from the outside — feels premature.
He began by talking about talent, potential and the importance of asset retention in this league. He finished by stressing that things had played out how the team had predicted. At no point did he acknowledge the risk that accompanies the decision to sign an extension now rather than wait until this off-season.
While the Raptors had the option of waiting to see how DeRozan’s fourth season played out before extending him a qualifying offer and having the option of matching any offer another team could extend his way in restricted free agency, they elected to take their chances on the potential and promise shown from the 23-year-old.
It was a deal that didn’t appear likely to happen — not after Colangelo had said on media day that the two sides “may have to grow together more before that deal is imminent.” As late as mid-morning Wednesday it sounded as though DeRozan’s camp and the team were still far apart in their negotiations, but on Thursday afternoon Colangelo explained that the team wasn’t surprised that a deal was agreed upon.
“We weren’t talking a lot about it publicly,” Colangelo said. “We were discussing a lot of things with (DeRozan’s) representation team over the last month or so. I told you probably at the start of the summer that we were going to address it at the proper time.
As the process unfolded, clearly a lot of activity happened (near Wednesday’s deadline). A lot of deals that weren’t expected happened at the last minute, including Taj Gibson (with Chicago) seven minutes before the deadline. It’s not really a surprise to us based on some of the progress that we were making throughout the process.”
The move means the team has made a commitment to DeRozan for the next four years, while also committing $20 million to Landry Fields over the next three seasons after using their lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft on shooter Terrence Ross.
When Colangelo was asked how Ross fits into that equation now he explained that some things take time to develop. “We talk about the concept of stacking talent,” Colangelo said. “Asset acquisition, asset retention, having pieces to sometimes develop into contributors and sometimes develop pieces that will ultimately turn into opportunities to improve your team other ways.
Having an ability to have depth at pretty much every position this year, Terrence included at the wing position, is certainly something that we feel very good about. The depth of this team is certainly one of the strong suits.”
That depth is a strength, but has DeRozan done enough to prove himself worthy of an extension so large? “We see DeMar as someone who has done a lot in a short period of time and has a much higher ceiling to achieve even more,” Colangelo said. “When this extension kicks in, we feel it will be well within the market.”
Outside of the analytics that Colangelo says show that DeRozan is progressing at a good pace, his desire to stay in Toronto as well as his attitude and character played a part in the front office wanting to lock him up now and show they want him to be a part of the future they’re hoping to build.
“He’s always expressed an interest in being here,” Colangelo said. “He really likes Toronto. He appreciates the way the organization has treated him and the way the fans have treated him. It’s kind of interesting that he played one year of college basketball. He’s played three seasons for us. Arguably, he spent his formative college years with us. We’ve grown with him. He’s grown with us.
Not only do we want him, but he wants to be there. That’s important to me. That’s important to the organization. It’s an important message to send that we’ve got a nice fit and we want to retain our players that work hard and show signs of promise. We feel by no means that he has reached his ceiling. Upside is a commodity in this business, and we definitely feel that this is a wise investment. The message to DeMar is that we see him as a keeper.”
That message wasn’t lost on DeRozan. Speaking to the media Wednesday night, he admitted he hadn’t yet processed the reality of signing a $38 million contract. He had processed what the move meant in terms of the team’s commitment to him. “It’s an honour,” he said. “I’m a loyal dude … for them to have the same passion in me, I feel like I owe them all I can bring to the table.”
The extension will pay him $38 million over four years with more than $1 million per year in incentives tied to his improvement, meaning DeRozan could earn close to $42 million if he reaches the benchmarks agreed to in the contract.
Jose Calderon (who received a five-year, $45 million contract from the Raptors in 2008), had only positive things to say about the team’s decision to commit to DeRozan. “He’s a great guy, deserves it,” Calderon said. “He’s the guy who wants to be in Toronto. He loves the city, he loves the organization. He’s been doing great. He’s been improving his game every day. He puts in the time every day to get better. That’s the kind of guy you want to get this kind of contract. Really happy for him. I’ve been with him since the beginning. He listens, he does everything you ask him do to and that’s the kind of player you want on your team.”
With security and commitment comes increased expectation. DeRozan has done everything asked of him thus far, but will he be able to continue to develop and perform at the level the Raptors are hoping?
During his tenure in Toronto, Colangelo has made a lot of moves. Some, like the decision to bring in Dwane Casey, have advanced the team in their goal of rebuilding. In the summer of 2009, the team gave Andrea Bargnani a five-year extension worth $50 million. At the time, it seemed like a tough number to swallow. Three seasons later, that deal looks like a great one considering how the market has shaken out. Maybe Colangelo is hoping he’ll find himself in a similar situation when DeRozan is midway through his new deal. Certainly he has chosen to roll the dice on taking a bigger risk of signing DeRozan now over the risk of having to overpay him this offseason.
The world of professional sports is like a real-life version of the board game Risk. You can’t win without playing, but the wrong decision can sink you. It’s impossible to know how this decision will look in four years, but with this extension Colangelo made it crystal clear that keeping DeRozan was a priority. A priority the team wasn’t willing to wait on.
