To Max or Not to Max: Is DeMar DeRozan Worth Leading-Man Money?

Two games won’t make or break DeMar DeRozan’s foray into unrestricted free agency this summer.

At least he should hope that’s the case. The two-time All-Star shot 5-of-19 from the floor during the Toronto Raptors’ 100-90 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their first-round series and followed that by failing to get to the free-throw line in Game 2—for the first time in over a year.

Whatever credibility DeRozan lost early in these playoffs, he recouped some with a 21-point night to help Toronto coast to a 101-85 Game 3 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“The angle of our screens, the type of screens we were setting for him, hopefully loosened him up a bit,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said, per ESPN’s Mike Mazzeo. “But at the end of the day, he made shots. That’s kind of simplistic, but that’s kind of what he did.”

And that’s what his next team, be it the Raptors or one of a slew of suitors around the NBA in July, will expect from him, assuming he declines his player option for 2016-17. DeRozan has fashioned himself into one of the game’s elite slashers, but in today’s NBA, where perimeter shooting is more must than plus, is a 2-guard who works almost exclusively inside the three-point line worth max money?

To Max

DeRozan’s ability to draw fouls alone could nudge him toward that territory.

He finished third in the league in free-throw attempts (8.4 per game), fifth in and-one opportunities (52 total) and ninth in fouls drawn (5.5 per game).

As an 85 percent shooter from the stripe, DeRozan scored an average of 1.7 points per possession for his squad—an astronomical mark of efficiency for any pro offense—whenever he got two shots therein.

DeRozan wouldn’t have taken up residency at the free-throw line without more time on the ball, and that wouldn’t have come without a marked improvement in his creative capacities. He’s become a patient operator in the pick-and-roll, one who can get his own…

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Or find the finisher in traffic.

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According to NBA.com, DeRozan ranked as one of the NBA’s most frequent and efficient pick-and-roll ball- handlers: 0.99 points per possession on 48.1 percent shooting, which is good enough to land in the league’s 92nd percentile.

DeRozan draws some of his effectiveness to that end from his deep reserve of mid-range tricks. He shot better than 40 percent between three and 16 feet from the hoop on an assortment of pull-ups and post-ups.

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If DeRozan looks at all like a poor man’s Kobe Bryant out there inside the arc, he should. The Compton, California native credits the Los Angeles Lakers legend, whom DeRozan grew up idolizing, for inspiring his game.

DeRozan said shortly after Bryant announced his retirement in November, per CBS Sports’ James Herbert:

He meant everything. I try to emulate, learn so much from him ever since I was a kid. Watching every single game growing up in Los Angeles, having a chance to get with him and learn from him and from …

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