DeMar DeRozan pushes back against the idea of a rebuild

Deebo explains his stance against rebuilding.

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The popular notion amongst Chicago Bulls fans and insiders alike is that the team should have pushed the reset button on this roster a long time ago. The Bulls’ front office has had numerous chances to reshape the roster and raise its ceiling higher than just a seat in the NBA Play-in Tournament. Rather than listen to fans’ pleas, the team’s decision-makers doubled down on this roster, a decision which Bulls star DeMar DeRozan agrees with.

Uncertain route

DeRozan argues that tearing down this Bulls squad offers no guarantees of a favorable result. One needs to only look at the Philadelphia 76ers as an example. Although years of blatant losing have helped the team secure a generational talent like Joel Embiid, the 76ers have yet to move past the Eastern Conference semifinals in the last five years.

“You can think that’s an answer or that’s a route. But there’s no telling how long that route is going to even last. That route doesn’t necessarily always work in a timely fashion that you may think it will take,” DeRozan shared.

Talented cast

DeRozan added that it’s not easy to find and acquire talented players in the NBA. It’s hard to argue with DeRozan in that regard. The Bulls have a “Big 3” composed of three All-Stars capable of putting up big numbers on any given night. DeRozan, though, admits that many mistakes have been made over the last couple of seasons, mistakes they hope to rectify.

“It’s hard to find and create talented players like the players that we already have assembled. We made a lot of mistakes. It’s not only on the players, but the coaching staff as well to be able to correct the mistakes that we have because we weren’t far off at all with the mistakes that we’ve had,” DeRozan shared.

“If we correct those, give us back the 10 to 15 games that we should’ve had last season. That changes the whole dynamic of everything. It’s always easy when something goes bad just to say, ‘Scratch it.’ But you really don’t know where you’ll end up from there.”