DeMar DeRozan on free agency: 'Mindset has always been Toronto'

Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan sounds like he has some unfinished business with the only franchise he’s ever known.

DeRozan, set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, solidified his case as a franchise cornerstone after averaging 20.9 points this postseason, which ended Friday night after the Cavaliers knocked the Raptors out of the playoffs.

“I don’t think so,” DeRozan said, when asked if he could envision a better situation than the one he’s currently in. “My mindset has always been Toronto. I’ve always preached it. I was passionate about it when we were losing, when we were terrible. I said I was going to stick through this whole thing, and I want to be that guy who brings this organization to where it is now. I definitely don’t want to switch that up after we win.”

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The Raptors are coming off their most successful season in franchise history as he and Kyle Lowry led the team on its deepest postseason run ever. They won a franchise-best 56 games, won their first postseason series since 2001, and each win against the Cavaliers subsequently became the team’s most significant victory. DeRozan doesn’t sound as if he wants to abandon what he’s got going on in Toronto.

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“I took pride in putting that Raptors jersey on when people counted us out or when people said, ‘Why go to Toronto? Why this, why that, why this, why what?’ You hear it so much. That gave me the motivation to want to prove people wrong or want prove critics wrong,” he said.

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The Raptors can offer DeRozan a five-year deal at around $145 million while other teams can offer up to four years around $107 million. One team that’s expected to pursue DeRozan is his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, but when pressed on his initial level of interest, the two-time All-Star sounded lukewarm.

“I grew up in L.A. That’s my home. There’s not a part of L.A. I haven’t seen,” he said. “I don’t get caught up (in the rumors). I let whoever comes up with that say what they want to say. Only thing appealing to me is the things I’ve done in this organization and the things that can be done here. And that’s always been my mindset.”

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