Gregg Popovich Won't 'Jump On' DeMar DeRozan Like He Did LaMarcus Aldridge

The San Antonio Spurs acquired DeMar DeRozan this summer in the Kawhi Leonard trade, and head coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday he doesn't want to change the star guard's style of play, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com:

DeRozan was the headliner in the package the Spurs received for Leonard and Danny Green, joining San Antonio alongside center Jakob Poeltl and a 1-20 protected 2019 first-round pick.

As for DeRozan, he was publicly angered and hurt by the trade initially, though it appears he's ready to settle into his new life as a Spur.

"I think every day that goes by me, being here, getting more comfortable—I just got back yesterday, so just to be able to get into the mix of everything, I'm looking forward to that," DeRozan said, per Greg Simmons of KSAT.com.

DeRozan, 29, likely will be the focal point of the offense in San Antonio. He averaged 23 points, 5.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game last season, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 31 percent from three. 

While there may be an adjustment period for DeRozan in Popovich's system, it appears the head coach will take a different approach with DeRozan than he did with LaMarcus Aldridge, who asked for a trade in the summer of 2017 after he became unhappy with how he was being coached. 

"I said, 'Whoa, nobody's ever said that to me before,'" Popovich noted in January of the trade request by Aldridge, per Wright. "It's my 20-whatever year, and nobody's ever said that, like, 'I'm not enjoying this. I'm not confident. I'm not sure you want me here. I want to be traded.'"

He continued:

"As discussions went on, it became apparent to me that it really was me. He'd played in the league for nine years. I'm not going to turn him into some other player. I could do some things defensively or rebounding wise. But on offense, I was going to move him everywhere. ... That was just silly on my part—total overcoaching. So we took care of it, and he's been fantastic."

Indeed, Aldridge responded with one of the best years of his career, averaging 23.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. The hope for Popovich and the Spurs will be that taking a similar approach to DeRozan will spark a career year for the All-Star guard as well.