Veteran forward DeMar DeRozan agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Denver Nuggets on Friday, according to league sources who were granted anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced.
The move comes a day after the Nuggets completed a multi-team trade that sent restricted free-agent forward Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Detroit Pistons were also in the mix for DeRozan, according to a league source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced.
DeRozan spent the past two seasons with the Sacramento Kings. He had one year and $25.74 million left on a three-year deal that he signed in 2024, but the final season was only partially guaranteed. The Kings waived DeRozan on July 6 from a contract that was guaranteed for $10 million, saving the Kings about $15 million and making DeRozan a free agent.
The 37-year-old, known for his midrange shooting proficiency, started all 77 games for the Kings last season, averaging 18.4 points per game and shooting 86.8 percent from the free-throw line. But Sacramento went 22-60, which tied the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the Western Conference. The Kings drafted Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh pick in June’s draft.
DeRozan will enter his 18th NBA season after the Toronto Raptors selected him with the ninth pick in the 2009 draft out of USC. The Compton, Calif., native is a three-time All-NBA selection and six-time All-Star who ranks 16th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,711 points. In addition to the Kings and Raptors, DeRozan has also played for the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls.
Though last season was the first time in 13 years that DeRozan did not average at least 20.0 points per game, he was remarkably efficient at a 49.7 percent field goal rate while attempting 5.6 free throws per game. DeRozan also had one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios among playmaking wings, averaging 4.1 assists and only 1.2 turnovers per game. DeRozan added 80 steals while shooting 86.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Even this deep into his career, DeRozan is still an elite midra nge shooter, having made a league-leading 3.0 non-paint 2s per game while making them at a 47.6 percent rate last season. DeRozan is one of only four players who have played at least 74 games in each of the last five seasons, along with New York Knicks wing Mikal Bridges, San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes and Charlotte Hornets forward Royce O’Neale.
Though DeRozan can score, his overall activity and floor game have declined with age. DeRozan averaged only 2.9 rebounds per game last season, his fewest since his rookie season. Defensively, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound DeRozan has been reduced to guarding forwards who don’t frequently create their own offense off the dribble. And while DeRozan is still an effective on-ball player, he is a career 30.2 percent 3-point shooter who has not grown more comfortable shooting from long range.
DeRozan has also played in only 12 playoff games since the Raptors traded him to the Spurs eight years ago for Kawhi Leonard. DeRozan has missed all 10 3-point attempts in those 12 games and has not been a part of a postseason series win since 2018.