Entering the final year of his three-year deal with the Chicago Bulls, 34-year-old DeMar DeRozan will be a free agent in the summer of 2024. Entering the final stages of his career, he’s made little mention of his priorities when choosing his next team but said he’d be excited to stay in Chicago for the remainder of his career. The roadblock for the Bulls is the lack of clarity in the future of the franchise. At his age, the former USC forward would not be included in any rebuild plans. If this team falls short of contention for a third straight season with the same core of players, his desire to play championship-level basketball cannot be fulfilled in a Bulls uniform. Media day brought a little more light to the situation. Here’s what the six-time All-Star had to say.
Retiring A Chicago Bull
While it may sound grand, DeRozan will likely not retire in Chicago. His desire to play meaningful postseason basketball, combined with the deservedly lucrative contract he will demand following this year, does not bode well for his return to the Bulls. As a franchise, they’ll have significant decisions regarding moving to a firesale of assets, including him, or an all-in haul for one of the game’s best players, similar to what Phoenix and Milwaukee executed this offseason. NBC Chicago estimates DeRozan’s long-term value at nearly $40 million per year until his age 39 season, assuming he remains in the NBA through the entire contract. A decision must be made between a more significant payday on a less developed franchise or sacrificing the salary to join a contending roster for the latter part of his playing days. Unfortunately for Chicago, they have neither option to offer their back-to-back All-Star forward.
Living In The Moment
During the Bulls media day, DeRozan was asked head-on how the contract negotiations were transpiring, to which he candidly said he was not made aware. Arturas Karnisovas took the stand an hour or so before his players and noted that negotiations have started and are ongoing, but nothing beyond that. DeRozan echoed the same sentiment when asked and added a bit of humor along the way.
“I have an agent. He deals with it, and I tell him to leave me the hell alone so I can focus on my five kids and my regular day life. I’m not kidding. I really try not to like focus on that or deal with them. I let them handle whatever needs to be handled from that standpoint. If I get a call about something, then I go from there.”
Via @chicagobulls on X
DeRozan’s tenure in Chicago is nothing short of incredible. His 27.9 and 24.5 points per game on 50.4% from the field in each rank first and third in points per game across his entire 14-year career, and the 50.4% efficiency is the second-best mark across his 14 seasons. Two All-Star nods, one All-NBA selection, a top-five MVP finish, and the most clutch-time points across the entire league over his two seasons thus far for the Bulls wildly surpass any expectations following his initial signing. It should be noted his signing in Chicago was rated as the worst free agency pickup of that entire NBA offseason by Bleacher Report.
Do you want Chicago to break the bank to bring back their most efficient scorer and consistent offensive force the last two seasons, or is it time to part ways with DeMar DeRozan? See his entire media day interview below.
