USC Men's Basketball: Trojan-Turned-All-Star Eligible For Lucrative Extension

But should his incumbent team take the leap?

Six-time All-Star Chicago Bulls small forward DeMar DeRozan, a former Pac-10 All-Freshman Teamer with your USC Trojans during the 2008-09 season, just became eligible for an extension of his current deal with the club last month.

The three-time All-NBA Team honoree, who turned 34 earlier this month, inked a three-year, $81.9 million deal with Chicago as part of a sign-and-trade with his then-incumbent team, the San Antonio Spurs, in 2021.

Per Daniel Greenberg, DeRozan can sign a new contract with Chicago through his year-38 season that could be worth up to $179 million over four years.

Although the 6'6" swingman seems to have roundly outplayed his current contract thanks to his terrific (and healthy) performances as the Bulls' best player, one wonders if he could really fetch much more than his max possible Chicago extension as an unrestricted free agent next summer. His advanced (NBA) age will put something of an unofficial cap on either the length or annual size of a new contract. 

DeRozan is an excellent pro, and probably will one day be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. And while with Chicago he was voted onto his first-ever All-NBA Second Team in 2022, the reality is he was once again underwhelming and less efficient in that postseason, a fate that seems to befall him most springs, much like his fellow 2009 Pac-12 draftee James Harden (who attended Arizona State University). He's a terrific midrange scorer, ball handler and passer, possesses a knack for slashing into the paint and drawing contact, and seems to be a beloved leader. But he's also never been a good defender, and that combined with his age and playoff limitations will hurt his market.

All this is to say that DeRozan may ultimately push for a maximum potential extension of his current contract rather than exploring free agency next. A veteran extension can now pay up to 140% of the player's prior salary, which would be a pretty potent sum for a player with DeRozan's advanced mileage.

He remains a potent and weirdly injury-averse scorer even in his pro dotage. Across 74 regular season contests last year, DeRozan average 24.5 points on .504/.324/.872 shooting splits, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks.