There have been very few constants in the NBA over the last 15 years, but one of them is that DeMar DeRozan is still getting buckets. On Saturday, DeRozan agreed to a three-year, $76 million deal with the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade. DeRozan turns 35 years old next month, but he’s still going strong. This past season for the Chicago Bulls, all DeRozan did was lead the league in total minutes and finish No. 11 in total points. You’d never know it was Year 15 of his career unless you followed his entire journey.
The league DeRozan entered when he drafted in 2009 is totally different from the one he continues to thrive in today. Back in DeRozan’s rookie year, Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic led the NBA in three-point attempts at 27.3 per game. That number would have ranked dead-last this past season, when no team attempted fewer than 31.2 per game. DeRozan came of age during the league’s three-point explosion, but he never gave in to modern trends. Instead, he mastered so many technical aspects of the game to continue to produce at a high level without taking a bunch of threes.
DeRozan has been around so long that he’s now playing with the sons of his former teammates. Back in 2011-12, DeRozan played 24 games with Anthony Carter. At the time, Carter was 36 years old and on the last stop of his NBA career. This season, DeRozan will play with Carter’s son, Devin Carter, who the Kings just selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Carter and DeRozan greeted each other this past weekend as the veteran walked into the Kings home arena during summer league after agreeing to his new contract.
DeRozan’s fit on the Kings will be fascinating. He likes to operate from the same parts of the floor as Domantas Sabonis. He works best with the ball in his hands, but so does De’Aaron Fox. One player who does fit well next to DeRozan is Carter — who was a tenacious defender and high volume three-point shooter at Providence College.
There are typically fit concerns when DeRozan changes teams, but at every stop he consistently out-plays expectations and keeps putting up a ton of points, efficiently. DeRozan has scored more than 25K points in his career. He’ll be a top-20 scorer of all-time soon if he keeps it up. He may never have been the best player in the league, but DeRozan’s longevity is remarkable. Just ask Anthony and Devin Carter.