Pistons floated as potential ‘surprise landing spot’ for DeMar DeRozan

Is there a chance DeMar DeRozan joins the Detroit Pistons this offseason?

This offseason will be full of decisions for the Chicago Bulls, and one of the biggest revolves around the impending unrestricted free agency of DeMar DeRozan. They’ll need to come to an agreement on a new deal with him if they want him back, but if they don’t, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report believes the Detroit Pistons could be a potential “surprise landing spot.”

“Whether Detroit should go down this road at all is a separate question, and…actually, you know what? Let’s just answer it,” Hughes wrote. “The Pistons shouldn’t be in the market for 34-year-old non-spacers, no matter how productive they’ve been, with a young roster starved for shooting.

“What’s more, all that cap space would be better utilized as a means to take on bad contracts with picks attached. Adding costly veterans at this juncture would be classic step-skipping—exactly the kind of hasty thinking that gets teams mired in the dreaded middle. But one can at least understand how the brutal last half-decade might spur some rash decisions in Detroit. When you’ve been this bad for this long, mediocrity, which DeRozan has proved he can deliver, looks pretty good.”

If the Bulls truly want to focus on the future, letting DeRozan walk could be what’s best for them.

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DeMar DeRozan opens up about Spurs-Raptors trade: ‘It f****d me up’

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan spoke about his emotions at the time of getting traded from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs.

When the Chicago Bulls made a sign-and-trade in the 2021 offseason, they were overwhelmingly bashed for the move. DeRozan was fresh off of a few middling seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, and his value wasn’t what it used to be. Since then, however, he has reemerged as an All-Star-caliber player in Chicago.

Prior to his stint in San Antonio, DeRozan was the face of the franchise for the Toronto Raptors. They traded him for what ended up being one year of Kawhi Leonard, but that one year finished with a championship banner hanging in Toronto. Regardless, DeRozan was hurt by the deal, and it’s not hard to understand why.

During a recent appearance on “The Pivot Podcast,” DeRozan opened up about his emotions at the time of the deal. (H/t Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report)

“It f****d me up, I’m being honest. It’s crazy,” DeRozan said. “I’m more than comfortable talking about it now but for the longest time it f****d me up because, one, that was the place I wanted to be, thought I was going to be, gave everything to. Like my whole motivation and drive was to simply put Toronto on the map. I wanted to follow the whole motto of, you know, Kobe [Bryant], my favorite player, I wanted to play on one team. I had it all mapped out. So when I got traded it was such a blow because at the time I was dealing with my family stuff, like you said, that was when my dad first started getting sick. That was the first time in my professional career where I just felt like out of it, I felt lost. I started to question every single thing.”

DeRozan spent nine years in Toronto, so to be traded out of the blue in the way that he was was certainly a shocker.

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USC’s DeMar Derozan talks Drake vs Kendrick Lamar and his next NBA team

DeMar DeRozan is carefully considering his options.

On this ‘Run It Back’ episode, co-hosts Michelle Beadle, Shams Charania, Lou Williams, and Chandler Parsons are joined by NBA star and Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan to talk about his future with the Bulls. DeRozan, who was a star in college at USC, revealed that he hopes to stay in Chicago, saying “the city is great, I love the city, the organization been great—it’s definitely a place I would love to return to, and take care of unfinished business.”

The former USC legend also talked about NBA free agency, the Drake versus Kendrick Lamar rap battle beef, possibly playing for his hometown Lakers, the impact of Kobe Bryant, and much more!

Current indications are pointing to DeRozan staying with the Bulls and giving Chicago a decent chance of being able to return to the NBA play-in round, which it has made (but not escaped) in each of the last two NBA seasons. The Bulls are stuck in the middle between the NBA’s elite and the NBA’s worst teams. Chicago is getting middle-tier NBA draft prospects but is also nowhere close to competing for a title. It’s an uncomfortable place to be.

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Chicago Bulls will likely find right deal with DeMar DeRozan

It seems very likely that the Chicago Bulls will end up re-signing DeMar DeRozan.

The Chicago Bulls have some big decisions to make this summer. According to Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, one of their top focuses at the start of free agency will likely be to find a deal with DeMar DeRozan that makes sense for both parties involved.

“Because this exercise involves predicting what each team would do and not propounding what they should do, there’s no need to dig into the logistical issues of a team like the Bulls, who last won a playoff series in 2015, committing major coin to DeMar DeRozan, who turns 35 before next season tips,” Buckley wrote. “By all accounts, that new contract is coming. While executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas spoke of a general need to make changes to this roster, he also maintained his public commitment to bringing DeRozan back. And the scoring swingman himself has said he isn’t looking for a reason to leave.

“It seems, then, that all there’s left to figure out is contractual terms that make sense for both parties. NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reported Chicago offered a new two-year pact with an annual salary of “perhaps as much as $40 million per season,” but DeRozan “is seeking a longer-term deal.”

Whether or not the Bulls should re-sign DeRozan is one question, but it seems likely that they will.

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DeMar DeRozan’s eyebrow-raising quotes on Lakers: ‘Never say no’

Could Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers next season?

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it will be up to the Chicago Bulls to figure out a way to keep him on board, which it sounds like they want to do. But whether or not they should actually bring him back is another question. Should Chicago rebuild? Or should they re-sign their guys?

DeRozan will be free to sign wherever he wants, and while he has expressed a level of desire to remain with the Bulls, nothing is guaranteed. And based on DeRozan’s response to potentially playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, a return home may not be out of the question.

A native of Compton, California, DeRozan said that he will never rule out a return home during a recent appearance on FanDuel TV.

“You can’t never say no about playing home…Time will tell. We’ll see where the cards fall,” DeRozan said.

Could we see DeRozan playing for the Lakers or LA Clippers next year?

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DeMar DeRozan admits he’s happy in Chicago as his Bulls free agency heats up

“The city is great,” said DeRozan.

As more time passes each day, it is starting to look like the Chicago Bulls have a good chance of bringing back veteran wing DeMar DeRozan. Recently, the Compton native made an appearance on the popular Fan Duel NBA show “Run it Back,” where the 6-time All-Star opened up about where he is in the process of his free agency with the Bulls.

“The city is great,” said DeRozan in the interview, hinting very loudly about his future with Chicago. “I love the city, the organization been great—it’s definitely a place I would love to return to, and take care of unfinished business.”

If DeRozan was hoping for some leverage regarding where he wants to be moving forward, he more or less just blew that leverage to smithereens.

But Chicago will be in a much worse position without him, so wearing his heart on his sleeve may not hurt the 15-season vet all that much at the bargaining table.

Especially if he has an offer or two in his back pocket.

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DeMar DeRozan on if he’d consider signing with the Lakers this summer

Could six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, a Los Angeles-area native, be the third star the Lakers probably need?

The Los Angeles Lakers, in the minds of many, need a significant talent upgrade if they are to contend for the NBA championship anytime soon. A few names have been thrown around as potential offseason targets, including the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young and Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell.

One name that hasn’t come up as much is DeMar DeRozan. The Chicago Bulls’ wing is about to become a free agent, and he has the type of scoring and facilitating skills L.A. needs.

DeRozan, who is a native of the Southland, was asked if he would consider signing with the Purple and Gold, and he didn’t rule it out (h/t Lakers Daily).

“When I was a kid — everybody know I’m a Kobe (Bryant) guy at the end of the day,” DeRozan said. “Always been a Kobe guy, being a Laker fan since day one. You can’t never say no about playing home, especially if you’re playing for a historic team like the Lakers. So, time will tell. We’ll see where the cards fall. Until then, I’ll see what happens.”

DeRozan will turn 35 years of age in August and has 15 years of NBA mileage on his body. But he looked spry this season, averaging 24 points and 5.3 assists a game while shooting 48% from the field. The six-time All-Star is still adept at scoring one-on-one in the midrange area, and he is very good at drawing fouls and converting free throws (he shot 85.3% from the foul line this year).

However, he isn’t a good 3-point shooter. Although he has improved somewhat in that category over the last three years, he hit only 33.3% of such attempts this season. DeRozan also seldom even shoots the ball from that distance. Therefore, he may be an awkward fit offensively on a team with LeBron James (if he remains with the Lakers) and Anthony Davis.

The Bulls are going nowhere fast, and if DeRozan wants a real shot at the NBA championship he has never even come close to winning, his best bet would be to leave.

The Lakers reportedly were close to getting him during the summer of 2021, only to pivot and trade for Russell Westbrook at James’ behest.

DeRozan would have to take an immense pay cut to become a Laker, but perhaps the team should at least take a look at him and see if he could fit in for the next couple of seasons.

Real chance Isaiah Collier could join DeMar DeRozan on Chicago Bulls

Isaiah Collier and DeMar DeRozan on the same team? It’s quite possible, say NBA draft analysts.

The future of Isaiah Collier will become a lot clearer in a month and a half. The 2024 NBA draft will be held in the last week of June. Collier will find out where his NBA career will begin. There could be a USC connection in the pros. Multiple NBA draft analysts are projecting that Isaiah Collier will join DeMar DeRozan on the Chicago Bulls.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie joined ESPN in projecting Collier to the Bulls at No. 11 in the first round. The consensus is that Collier is a lottery-level pick in the NBA draft, but not a top-five pick. He could move up into the top 10, but there appear to be too many questions surrounding his game and overall profile for him to rise into the top five. It would be fascinating if Collier did join DeRozan and added to the USC presence on the Bulls. It will also be notable to see if the Bulls move any of their other important players in an attempt to freshen up their roster heading into 2025.

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Report: DeMar DeRozan likely to re-sign with Chicago Bulls

DeMar DeRozan is likely going to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls this offseason.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the belief around the NBA is that DeMar DeRozan will end up re-signing with the Chicago Bulls this summer. The veteran forward is an unrestricted free agent, but recent rumblings have indicated that the Bulls will be willing to pay to bring him back.

“In general, the belief around the league is DeRozan will ultimately re-sign with the Bulls, given the team’s continued desire to compete, his role, and Chicago’s willingness to pay him,” Scotto wrote. DeRozan is 34 years old, but he revived his career in Chicago. The question is, what will the roster look like around him should be return?

The Bulls have Coby White, who just wrapped up a breakout season, and are supposedly looking to trade Zach LaVine this summer. But should they be looking to tear things down instead?

Bringing back DeRozan would signal the Bulls’ willingness to continue competing with the current core, which is clearly not working.

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Deciding DeMar DeRozan’s future labeled Bulls’ number-one priority

Deciding what to do with DeMar DeRozan should be the toppriority for the Chicago Bulls this offseason.

The Chicago Bulls have some huge choices to make this summer. Choices that will help decide the course of the organization for years to come. According to Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, deciding DeMar DeRozan’s future with the team should be their number-one priority this offseason.

“Want to get a clear and concise read on Chicago’s plans for next season? Just watch how DeMar DeRozan’s unrestricted free agency plays out,” Buckley wrote. “If the Bulls are aiming to maximize their competitiveness, they won’t let DeRozan get away. He has been objectively awesome over his three seasons with the team (25.5 points and 5.1 assists per game) and even better in big moments. He’s had the second-most clutch points in each of the past three seasons, and the worst he ever shot on those late-game looks was 47.1 percent, per NBA.com.

“Of course, if Chicago is finally ready to shift its focus forward, then the idea of giving DeRozan, who turns 35 in August, a new deal is a non-starter. To be clear, the Bulls have given no indication of being open to a rebuild, but with the last three seasons having yielded just a single playoff trip and no series wins, that has to be an option they’re at least considering. The likeliest scenario seemingly involves giving DeRozan a new deal and working to beef up the roster around him and breakout star Coby White, but that obviously isn’t the only way things can play out. Once it’s clear whether DeRozan is sticking around or not, the rest of their offseason decisions should become a lot easier to make.”

DeRozan will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so the Bulls could either re-sign him, let him walk, or complete a sign-and-trade.

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