Look, I know this is crazy, but hear me out. The Spurs have been good at defense since forever, and everybody who goes to the Spurs becomes a better defender. DeMar DeRozan might be the exception that proves the rule. Then again, he also might be another in a long line of basketball players who have their best defensive years wearing the silver and black.
DeMar’s defensive shortcomings have been covered in depth, and we’ve discussed his need to improve on this very site. It came up again in training camp as Jeff McDonald reported that DeMar sees defense as the “next step” in his game.