Denver's core all picked up the phone before DeRozan, and the calls did exactly what they were supposed to do.
Before forward DeMar DeRozan agreed to join the Denver Nuggets, his phone rang with three separate calls, and the names behind them made his decision a lot easier.
Center Nikola Jokic, forward Aaron Gordon and guard Jamal Murray all reached out before DeRozan signed, according to a new profile from The Athletic's Mirin Fader, and those conversations meant a great deal to a 37-year-old who suddenly found himself looking for a team this summer.
How the Calls Came Together
DeRozan's road to Denver was rougher than a player of his standing deserves.
The Kings waived him in July in a cost-cutting move, this after a season in which he averaged 18.4 points across 77 games, and the six-time All-Star had to wait until August for his next opportunity.
Fader writes that the calls from Jokic, Gordon and Murray played a real part in his wanting to sign, since the three understood, like he does, what it means to be a veteran watching the window get smaller.
Chris Haynes had reported the same recruiting push when the agreement first came together, so the reporting lines up from both directions.
The deal itself is a one-year minimum contract worth $3.9 million, because a second-apron team like Denver could not offer an outside free agent anything more, and it became official on September 8.
What Denver Is Actually Getting
The price makes this one of the best value signings of the offseason.
DeRozan sits 16th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, he has made three All-NBA teams, and he has appeared in at least 60 games in all 17 of his seasons, which is exactly the durability a team with title plans wants from its bench.
Denver spent the summer hunting affordable wing depth, and it ended up with a scorer who was putting up starter numbers as recently as last season.
His own words in Fader's profile explain the perspective he brings.
"When I came in the league, I never would have imagined or thought I'd be playing that long," DeRozan said.
Deals like this one are also how second-apron teams survive their own payroll, since the rules leave them no other way to add veteran talent, and Denver took the one path it had.
Why the Calls Meant More
A minimum contract was the most Denver could pay, so the recruiting had to come from somewhere else, and it came from the locker room.
Jokic, Gordon and Murray calling a 37-year-old scorer tells that player he is wanted for a real role rather than as a name on a bench, and for a man who has played 17 seasons without a ring, being wanted by a team built to win the whole thing is the entire sales pitch.
It is also a healthy sign for the locker room itself, because stars only pick up the phone like that for a team they really believe in, and the effort cost Denver nothing beyond a little attention and humility.
The Nuggets needed scoring help and sent their three most important voices to get it, and that effort might age into one of the smartest moves of their summer.
