DeMar DeRozan Lands in Denver: What His Minimum Deal Means for Fantasy
The 37-year-old wing joins Jokić and Murray on a one-year minimum after averaging 20.3 PPG in Sacramento. But the fit is messy — and so is his fantasy value.
Scoring is real, but a bench role next to Jokić caps his ceiling.
- DeRozan: 20.3 PPG, 4.3 AST last 2 seasons in Sacramento
- One-year, minimum deal at age 37 — his 18th NBA season
- Shot 32.5% from three; 61% of 2s self-created in 2025-26
- Replaces Peyton Watson, who shot 41.1% from deep
- Jokić posted 62.1 fantasy pts/game in 2025-26 (actual)
DeMar DeRozan is heading to Denver. The six-time All-Star has agreed to a one-year, minimum deal with the Nuggets, per multiple reports, giving him his 18th NBA season alongside Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. At 37, he arrives after two years in Sacramento where he put up 20.3 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds on 48.6/32.5/86.2 splits before the Kings waived him this summer.
The move plugs a hole. Denver shipped restricted free agent Peyton Watson to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade earlier this week, and DeRozan slots into a wing rotation with Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets are coming off a first-round exit and trying to stay in the contender tier behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio out West.
Why the Fit Is Awkward
On paper, this isn't clean. Denver's offense lives on spacing around the Jokić-Murray two-man game, and DeRozan's calling card has never been the three-ball — he hit just 32.5% last season, with most of his damage coming from the midrange. For context, the departed Watson canned 41.1% from deep. DeRozan also self-created more than 61% of his 2-point buckets in Sacramento, while Watson was assisted on 65.2% of his. That's a stylistic clash, not a plug-and-play swap.
The optimistic read is that DeRozan finally fixes Denver's chronic bench problem. In Jokić-led lineups his shot diet is redundant — the big fella creates better looks than DeRozan can hunt for himself. But with Jokić resting, DeRozan becomes a genuine bucket-getter and on-ball creator. How David Adelman staggers him will decide whether this works.
The Fantasy Angle
Here's the rub for fantasy managers: efficiency in a reduced role rarely translates to counting stats. DeRozan will not sniff his Sacramento usage next to a Jokić who posted 62.1 fantasy pts/game in 2025-26 (actual) and a Murray at 42.9. The bigger fantasy question is what this does to the incumbents. Gordon (our rank #104, 28.8 fantasy pts/game in 2025-26) and Johnson (#166, 22.8 fantasy pts/game in 2025-26) now split a more crowded wing pie — Johnson's the one to monitor, since his last five games ran +9 fantasy pts above his season average.
Draft DeRozan as a mid-round scorer if you want the points, but temper expectations — a minimum-deal role player on a Jokić team isn't a set-and-forget asset. Watch how the rotation shakes out in the preseason before committing a pick. Gordon holds his low-end value; Johnson is the sneaky name whose ceiling could dip if DeRozan eats his minutes.
