The Chicago Bulls Need To Be Open To A DeMar DeRozan Trade

In the midst of what can only be considered a disappointing season, All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan is once again proving that age is nothing but a number.

The 33-year-old is currently averaging 26 points, five rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, while sporting a TS of 60.1%, and a TOV of 8.6%, which is one of the best marks of any star in the league, especially one as ball-dominant as he is.

DeRozan’s consistency these past two seasons have been an enormous bright spot for the Bulls, who seem to be perpetually stuck in injury hell. Point guard Lonzo Ball hasn’t played in almost a full calendar year, and Zach LaVine is still ramping up after offseason knee surgery.

While the Bulls seem determined to see their current experiment through, after forking over an absolute haul to the Magic for Nikola Vučević during the 2021 trade deadline, their 11-15 record has them currently placed outside the play-in picture.

Their remaining December schedule could tell a lot about their future. They meet the New York Knicks three times this month, and have games against the Rockets, Pistons, Wolves, and Heat, all of whom are currently playing sub-.500 basketball.

If the Bulls remain outside the play-in picture as the calendar flips to 2023, it might be time to take stock of their situation and quietly field offers for DeRozan. At 33, he isn’t going to fetch a similar return as what the Jazz received for Rudy Gobert, but he’s certainly good enough to warrant the return of at least one fully unprotected pick.

It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that DeRozan could end up fetching more than what most people believe near the trade deadline, when a handful of competitive teams will all fight for the best talents on the trade market, in order to make a championship push.

The Lakers have been heavily rumored as a DeRozan destination. If Anthony Davis stays healthy, and continues his MVP caliber play, the Lakers could be motivated enough by the glare of another championship that forking over both the 2027 and 2029 first-rounders, fully unprotected, wouldn’t be an entirely unrealistic scenario.

(In theory, the Lakers could pull off a DeRozan trade without relinquishing Russell Westbrook if they wanted to. Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker, and Kendrick Nunn would instead go to Chicago, who’d send Tony Bradley and Marko Simonović along.)

Needless to say, the Bulls will have to concede two things for that to happen. One being their aspirations of this season, and the other being that their current plan didn’t work.

That may be a disappointment overall, but at least it was a fair try. Besides, given the draft capital they gave up for Vučević, being able to replenish the empty draft pick cupboard is a perfectly fine start to re-tooling this roster once more.

One could argue that sitting on DeRozan, only to let his contract expire in 2024, would be a complete waste of an asset, especially as the outlook of competitiveness has slimmed to this extent.

A similar approach could be taken with Vučević, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. His $22 million salary wouldn’t be difficult to find a taker for, and his improved play this season could convince a competitive team to relinquish some assets as compensation.

The Miami Heat could stand both a talent injection and to rid themselves of Duncan Robinson’s contract. Vučević for Robinson and Nikola Jović works financially, and the Heat could throw in a 2028 lottery protected first-rounder to adjust for value, as relieving themselves of Robinson’s deal won’t come cheap. If the pick hasn’t conveyed by 2030, it turns into two future second round selections.

Generally, the Bulls need to ask themselves not only if they believe this team can turn their season around, but if they believe this roster can bring them to the playoffs next year as well. Given their current struggles, and the unknown state of Ball when or if he returns, they have to recognize the low odds facing them.

If they don’t, it’s time to start dealing.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.