The Chicago Bulls are in a weird spot as a team. While many are calling for them to hit the reset button and start over, Arturas Karnisovas seems content bringing back the same core guys and running it back. That would only lead to more middling results. The team needs a shake-up.
More than anything, the Bulls need help at the point guard position. Fred VanVleet recently declined his player option and plans to leave the Toronto Raptors. Acquiring him wouldn’t be easy for the Bulls, but what if they decided to really shake things up and trade DeMar DeRozan back to Toronto?
Sam Smith of NBA.com recently conducted a mailbag, and one reader wrote in asking about VanVleet. Smith posed the idea of a DeRozan-for-VanVleet swap, noting that he doesn’t hate the concept.
“Would the Raptors take DeMar DeRozan? Who truly does love Canada and Canada may love him more than any NBA player who’s even been there,” Smith wrote. “I would look seriously at that if I were the Bulls—and maybe Toronto is into nostalgia as they reset. VanVleet would be a nice upgrade at point even if he’s a poor shooter (39 percent overall last season) and defender given he’s barely six foot tall. Otherwise, it probably would take too much from the Bulls roster for it to make much sense for the Raptors to take on the money.”
DeRozan is entering the final year of his contract, so if the Bulls don’t trade him, they risk losing him for nothing. Adding a guy like VanVleet could help them sort out their point guard needs, so why not consider the idea?
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