NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan learned firsthand that the NBA was a business when the Toronto Raptors traded him to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard before the 2018-19 season.

It took a while for DeRozan, who had been in Toronto since they drafted him in 2009 with the No. 9 overall pick, to get used to the idea of being shipped off to San Antonio, but he's settled in as the team's leading scorer at 20.1 points per game.

Now, he could be on the move again.

According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, the Orlando Magic have "expressed interest" in trading for DeRozan.

O'Connor also reported that front-office executives would not be "surprised" if the Spurs actually dealt DeRozan, even as early as before the trade deadline.

So why would San Antonio move the four-time All-Star?

There's no simple answer, but all signs point to building their young talent.

The Spurs have a promising young core in Dejounte Murray, Bryn Forbes, Lonnie Walker IV and Derrick White.

Head coach Gregg Popovich can't fully develop those players, though, because he doesn't have enough minutes to go around with DeRozan in the lineup.

Additionally, DeRozan's style of play harkens back to the days before the analytics craze made the three-point shot king.

Simply put, DeRozan doesn't take or make threes. In fact, through 11 games this season, he hasn't even attempted one.

The 30-year old shooting guard is efficient, shooting 51.2 percent from the field on a steady diet of mid-range jumpers, but the league is moving past that style of play.

San Antonio has had discussions with DeRozan on a possible contract extension, but according to The Athletic's Sam Amick, the two sides remain "quite a ways apart."

If they can't come to an agreement, DeRozan can become a free agent this summer if he declines his $27.7 million player option.

That means the Spurs would get nothing in return for letting DeRozan walk.

Should they deal him to the Magic, they could get a combination of young players and future draft picks.

More than likely, they'll focus on the latter because they have had a lot of success in the past selecting players in the draft.

For the Magic, adding DeRozan could inject some much-needed scoring into their offense alongside Markelle Fultz, who was recently added to the starting lineup.

Orlando currently has the second-worst offensive rating in the NBA at 100.6.

With DeRozan, they could possibly bolster their scoring and move up in the rankings.

Maurice Bobb covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow Maurice on Twitter, @ReeseReport.