5 Compelling Reasons the Chicago Bulls Must Re-Sign DeMar DeRozan
You might not think that welcoming back a 35-year-old unrestricted free agent makes sense. But it does, it really, really does.
Listen, I’m a hard-hitting, grizzled, take-no-prisoners sports journalist. I’m professionally objective and objectively professional. I break the stories that change the NBA landscape.
Okay, exactly none of that is true. I rarely hit hard, I’m nowhere near grizzled, I’ve never scooped Woj or Shams, and I’m objectively unobjective.
Think about it: If I had a modicum of objectivity, would I spearhead a Substack called Chicago Sports Stuff? For that matter, since I launched this endeavor in March, would 527 people have felt compelled to ask me, “Dude, why didn’t you just name it Chicago Sports Nerd? Or Chicago Sports Dork? Or Chicago Sports Weenie?”
Chill out, you 527 haters. Be nice.
Anyhoobs, the point of all this is I’m a Chicago Bulls lifer and a DeMar DeRozan stan, and I don’t care who knows it, so I have a rooting stake in DeRozan’s future in Chicago — a future that’s very much in question.
But I don’t think it should be a question at all.
Deebo — as his close, personal friends like me call him — is an unrestricted free agent, and if Bulls Executive VP of Basketball Ops Artūras Karnišovas and the team’s braintrust let DeRozan walk, they’re straight-up [redacted vulgar adjective].
All that said, it might already be a done deal, as reported by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto:
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.
If Scotto’s right, cool, let’s ink #11 to a deserved three-year, $130 million contract, let’s watch him do cool #11 things, and let’s (periodically) enjoy another .500-ish season.
But if you hear whispers that Karnišovas et al are thinking, “Meh, DeRozan’s too expensive, let’s make sure we stay under the luxury tax and give him a nice going away present,” point them to this article, because the below five reasons to embrace a Deebo return will unquestionably pressure the FO into handing the future Hall of Famer a Montblanc Meisterstuck with which to sign his shiny new deal.
1) Either With or Without DeRozan, the Bulls Won’t Make Any Noise in the Eastern Conference
Here’s the thing:
Giannis Antetokounmpo is just 29-years-old. The former MVP has two more years on his contract, with a player option for a third. And he has eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard as a running buddy.
Joel Embiid is just 30-years-old. Like Antetokounmpo, the former MVP has two more years on his contract, with a player option for a third. And he has All-Star Tyrese Maxey as a running buddy.
Jayson Tatum is just 26-years-old. The five-time All-Star has a year left on his contract, with a player option for a second. And he has three-time All-Star Jaylen Brown as a running buddy.
Jalen Brunson is just 27-years-old. Like Tatum, the All-Star has a year left on his contract, with a player option for a second. And he has three-time All-Star Julius Randle as a running buddy.
Tyrese Haliburton is just 24-years-old. He has five years left on his contract, and he has two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam as a running buddy.
And then there’s Cleveland with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland. And then there’s Orlando with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs. And then there’s Miami with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adabayo, and Tyler Herro.
Barring long-term injuries to some or all of the above — and I don’t wish that upon any of them — the Chicago Bulls won’t sniff the top of the East until Giannis, Jayson, et al get old and/or ineffective. That might well be three seasons from now…the length of DeRozan’s theoretical new deal.
So let’s swap out the above “theoretical” for “logical,” shall we?
2) Without DeRozan, There’s No Real Team Leader
Since Zach Lavine — a justifiably beloved locker room figure — was traded to Chicago in 2017, the team has compiled a record of 75-143 (.344) with him in the lineup. Without him, they’re 168-178 (.486).
Admittedly, during the early portion of his Bulls tenure, Lavine was coached by Jim Boylen; Wilt Chamberlain would have trouble succeeding under that level of incompetence, That said, a player who had the fear and respect in the locker room would’ve made the team somewhat better, Boylen be damned.
But even if Lavine developes hardcore leadership qualities, the point is moot, as he likely won’t be around for the beginning of the 2024 season anyhow.
As for the rest of the squad:
Coby White has demonstrated some cojones, as has Ayo Dosumnu, but neither 24-year-old is prepared to haul a blah roster to the next level.
Nikola Vucevic has played for three franchises, none of which he’s been under consideration to captain. Good dude, but not a commander.
Patrick Williams is super-shy, and Lonzo Ball might never see the court again, and Andre Drummond doesn’t play or produce enough.
There is hope in Alex Caruso. The defensive wiz is going to be a coach someday — and a damn good one — and should Deebo walk, he’ll undoubtedly take the captain’s mantle. But DeRozan will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and it’ll be tough for Caruso to compete with that.
3) Chicago Needs Class Acts Like Deebo
He’s an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness.
He’s visible in the Chicago community.
He’s a philanthropist and an activist.
DeMar DeRozan comports himself exactly the way a professional athlete should.
And that’s a guy you want on your team and in your city.
4) The 2024 Free Agent Pool, Um, Stinks
Okay, “stinks” is an overstatement — there are a couple of future Hall of Famers and current All-Stars on the list — but there aren’t any young needle movers, and the only justifiable reason to let Deebo walk is if he can be replaced with a starter under the age of 30.
As for some of the bigger-name UFAs…
Klay Thompson: 34-years-old, likely wouldn’t want to end his career riding the treadmill of mediocrity.
James Harden: 34-years-old, likely wouldn’t be interested in playing for a team that won’t let him dribble out the 24-second clock every other possession.
Pascal Siakam: 30-years-old, likely wouldn’t leave an Eastern Conference Finals squad for a Play-In Tourney squad.
Tobias Harris: 31-years-old, make no sense for either party.
As for the restricted free agents and the folks with player options, there’s exactly no chance that LBJ, or PG-13, or DLo, or even KCP has any interest in decamping at the United Center. Which leads us to…
5) What the Hell Else Are They Gonna Do?
Thanks to the weirdly patient Artūras Karnišovas, “continuity” has become a dirty word in the Windy City, so dirty that the always-warm-and-fuzzy Coby White is ready to throw down, as he told The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry:
“We’ve got to figure [something] out. We can’t keep relying on the Play-In to get to the playoffs. Like the last two seasons, we’ve been this close and we ain’t make it. So we don’t need to rely on the Play-In next year. We need to try to get that top-six seed.”
Preach on, young Tar Heel. Preach on.
This all is why it breaks my heart to tell the ascendant, hyper-competitive guard, “Cobe, your team’s salary cap is jacked up and the roster is as flawed as any in the Association, so the chances of your boy Karnišovas making the kind of move that’ll catapult the Bulls into contention — even he’s able to jettison Lavine’s garbage contract — are slim-to-nil. So you may as well use whatever influence you have to convince the bean-counters to pony up for Deebo.”
Because what the hell else are they gonna do?