DeMar DeRozan Contract: 1-Year, $3.9M With Nuggets

The DeMar DeRozan contract is a one-year, $3.9 million bet that a 37-year-old scorer still moves a title window. ESPN's Shams Charania reported Friday that the six-time All-Star has agreed to sign with the Denver Nuggets. Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime first reported that DeRozan intended to land in Denver. Bleacher Report put Haynes and Charania together: Haynes had the destination, Charania had the dollars.

Basketnews, citing Charania, filled in the rest of the bio. DeRozan turned 37 earlier this month. Last season in Sacramento he averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 77 games. That is not a nostalgia signing. That is a guy who just posted 18 a night on a Kings team that waived him. Seventeen seasons. Raptors, Spurs, Bulls, Kings. Now Jokic.

DeMar DeRozan contract terms and the second-apron math

The sticker is $3.9 million. The cap sheet is uglier. Basketnews quoted ESPN's Bobby Marks: Denver will take a $2.4 million cap hit on the deal, now has 14 players on guaranteed contracts, and is projected about $3.15 million above the NBA's second apron. Marks also put a $75 million luxury-tax bill on the Nuggets. Bleacher Report added the before picture: Denver was already $1.3 million over the second apron before DeRozan signed.

That is the point. This is not a team hunting value in free agency. This is a team already paying the tax to keep Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in April. A one-year deal is how you add a closer without chaining the books to 2029. The DeMar DeRozan contract does not reset Denver's apron problem. It just admits the Nuggets would rather spend than watch another wing walk.

How the Nuggets got here after the Peyton Watson trade

The Kings cut him loose on July 6. Bleacher Report said Sacramento waived DeRozan and the remainder of his expiring deal; he would have counted $25.7 million against the cap if he had stayed. The Kansas City Star, publishing Friday, said Haynes reported DeRozan intended to sign with Denver after conversations with Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Murray. That is the recruiting pitch: come play with the MVP, not for a rebuild.

The roster hole is not a mystery. Denver just shipped Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a five-team deal — the same Peyton Watson trade that opened a wing slot and a tax conversation. Cleveland, meanwhile, already locked in James Harden on a three-year, $97 million deal. Two veterans, two contenders, two very different invoices. DeRozan is the cheaper one. He is also 37 and on a one-year flier. If the jumper holds, Denver looks smart. If it does not, they are off the books in July.

DeMar DeRozan contract FAQ

What is the DeMar DeRozan contract with the Nuggets? A one-year, $3.9 million agreement, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Friday. Chris Haynes first reported that DeRozan intended to sign with Denver.

Why did the Kings waive DeMar DeRozan? Bleacher Report said Sacramento waived him July 6. He would have counted $25.7 million against the cap on the expiring deal. He became an unrestricted free agent and averaged 18.4 points in 77 games last season, per Basketnews.

How does the DeMar DeRozan contract affect the Nuggets' cap? ESPN's Bobby Marks, via Basketnews, projected a $2.4 million cap hit, 14 guaranteed contracts, about $3.15 million over the second apron, and a $75 million luxury-tax bill. Bleacher Report said Denver was already $1.3 million over the second apron before the signing.