USC Basketball: Ex-Trojan DeMar DeRozan Talks Free Agency After Bulls Miss Playoffs Again
Will the former Pac-10 Tournament MVP look for a change of scenery this summer?
Talk about deja vu.
Former one-and-done USC Trojans superstar swingman DeMar DeRozan's Chicago Bulls were eliminated by the Miami Heat in their second play-in game of the year with a shot at the Eastern Conference's eighth seed for the second straight season. This time, the loss was even more inexcusable, as the Bulls were playing a Heat team missing two starters, point guard Terry Rozier and All-NBA small forward (and ex-Bull) Jimmy Butler. Yes, Chicago was missing key players in Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams, but neither was as imperative to the club's, well, culture, as Butler is to Miami.
In the 112-91 road blowout Friday night, DeRozan scored a Bulls-best 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor (3-of-6 from the three point line) and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. The six-time All-Star also chipped in four assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block, while notching a -20 plus-minus... which might sound bad, until you check the box score and realize that three other Bulls starters posted even worse plus-minuses.
Speaking with the press after the fact, DeRozan addressed his impending unrestricted free agency (he is eligible to sign a contract extension with Chicago until the official start of the 2024-25 season in July).
“The next time I play a game will be my 16th season. You realize the window closes for you personally. I ain’t trying to play 25 years," DeRozan revealed. "My stance on wanting to be here is still the same but I just want to win.”
He's certainly not going to do much winning in Chicago. The team has shown a monumental inflexibility when it comes to team-building. President Arturas Karnisovas has not made a trade involving a player since August 2021 (he did trade for the rights to the No. 35 pick in last summer's draft, and subsequently selected raw forward Julian Phllips out of Tennessee). Chicago seems to be perpetually played by injury problems year in and year out, doesn't shoot or defend three point shots much relative to the rest of the league, and is woefully inconsistent on defense. The team has gone 125-121 across the last three seasons, making the actual playoffs proper just once in that span.
That's hardly DeRozan's fault.
Although he missed the All-Star cut this year after making two straight during his first seasons as a Bull, DeRozan submitted a typically impressive stat sheet in his year-34 season. Playing 79 games and averaging a league-most 37.9 minutes per game, the 34-year-old averaged 24 points on .480/.333/.853 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.6 rebounds a night. He's never been a strong defender or long range sniper, but he's one of the most efficient midrange shooters in the game, a great passer, solid rebounder and still has a knack for drawing contact and getting fouls called in his favor. He's also insanely durable, especially given his age. He deserves to compete for a title, after spending his post-Toronto Raptors years largely mired in mediocrity.
The Bulls may pull up the brinks truck in an effort to retain his services and stay a No. 9 seed next season, but the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament MVP may want to think with his heart and not his wallet this time.
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