If indeed, the Golden State Warriors land as the runner-up in the LeBron James sweepstakes, they will still have an issue on their hands. They will have at least one roster spot and still be in a position where they’d like to add a capable veteran wing who can at least fill a roster spot until Jimmy Butler is recovered from his torn ACL, probably in January. The ideal answer might be DeMar DeRozan, the 17-year veteran who turns 37 next month.
DeRozan can score. He averaged 18.4 points last season on 49.7% shooting, and though he is not your typical Warriors scorer (he shoots 30.2% from the 3-point line), neither is Butler and yet the Dubs have managed to make that work. DeRozan is a savvy passer, though (4.1 assists last year), and most important, he is a workhorse. He’s missed just 27 games in the past five seasons, a remarkable number considering his age and the approach to rest in this NBA era.
If the Warriors can’t land James whenever he makes his decision on his next locale, DeRozan is the ideal fallback. But the problem is, he’s other teams’ fallbacks, too.
Warriors Could Make Pitch to DeMar DeRozan
Certainly, DeRozan could pass on the Warriors to go to the Cavaliers if James goes to, say, Miami. He could go to Miami if James picks Cleveland. Both probably will have better Finals odds than the Warriors. There’s also the chance that DeRozan just follows wherever James goes.
But what would the Warriors’ pitch be to DeRozan that could put them ahead in case they lose on James?
One prominent NBA agent offered the notion that it’s about value: “If I were his agent, I’d want to give him a chance to rebuild his value, and you’re going to get that playing with Stephen Curry, playing big minutes while Jimmy is coming back and probably still getting a lot of shots even when Jimmy comes back–he might need time to get to 100%. You’re on a one-year minimum, go where the shots are, where you’re playing in a good offense.”
DeMar DeRozan Can Still Be No. 2 Option
Indeed, DeRozan could be the No. 2 option for the Warriors while Butler recuperates, alongside Kristaps Porzingis. Butler got 12.2 shots per game last year for the Warriors, and DeRozan got 13.1 for the Kings–he could slide right into Butler’s role on that account.
Of course, the Warriors could pass on DeRozan and either sign a younger player or fill a different role altogether. But DeRozan is sensible, if they can get their pitch to him right.
As one executive said: “If they don’t get LeBron, DeMar is the kind of guy they need. Sometimes you just need a guy who is a pro, who can come in and fit what you want to do and does not need a lot of hand-holding. And he plays every night. That’s really important.”
Warriors Would Get Workhorse
It’s especially important for the Warriors and coach Steve Kerr. While Kerr, when he held a press conference in May after he announced he would return as the team’s coach, emphasized that he wanted “young legs” on the roster, what he was really after was continuity. Too often, the Warriors had stretches when they could not play veterans because of age and injury, and the team’s continuity fell apart by the end of last season.
DeRozan would not require kid-glove handling. Expect the Warriors to have a pitch ready for him.
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