DeMar DeRozan & Nic Batum Take Millions to Stay in Toronto & Charlotte, Sorry Lakers

All that talk about DeMar DeRozan “going home” for the last three months? Didn’t happen. DeRozan eschewed LA to stay in frigid Toronto, but at least he’ll have scrooge McDuck money to roll around in: His 5-year, $139 million contract will pay him an average of $28 million a year – more than any QB in the NFL gets on a yearly basis.

That’s DeMar DeRozan, a shooting guard who isn’t a very good shooter (33 percent on 3-pointers this past season was a career high). DeRozan turns 27 next month, so this contract will keep him north of the border for his prime years.

As such, the Raptors will remain the 2nd best team in the East behind Cleveland.

And if early indications are anything, that extra 5th year that teams can use to retain their players is majorly important. The 5th year is also why Nic Batum is staying in Charlotte.

Batum has agreed to a 5-year, $120 million deal to stay with the Hornets. Batum is 27, an ideal 3-and-D small forward, and averaged 14.9 ppg. I had him as one of the 10 best free agents on the market.

It’s very early, but so far, the common thread in these two signings: That extra $20-ish million in the 5th year is more of an incentive than winning a championship or playing in a marquee market, at least to DeRozan and Batum. Because – and this is no slight to Toronto or Charlotte – neither of those teams is a) getting out of the East as long as LeBorn is healthy and b) neither of those teams is beating the Warriors/Thunder in the Finals.

And the Lakers continue to weep.