Likely the biggest free agency news of the day around the NBA landscape occurred when the Chicago Bulls pulled off a sign-and-trade deal with the San Antonio Spurs to land star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan. The Bulls had an enormous week thus far during the free agency negotiation window.
While we did see some now-former Bulls players such as veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple, combo guard Tomas Satoransky, center Daniel Theis, etc. land elsewhere, it didn’t outshine the free agency additions for this team. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley put together a big week through two days.
Chicago Bulls now more firmly attain contender status by signing DeMar DeRozan
It all started off with the Bulls pulling off a sign-and-trade with the New Orleans Pelicans to nab restricted free agent point guard Lonzo Ball. In return for Lonzo, the Bulls shipped off Temple, Sato, and a second-round draft pick. That was a good deal for the Bulls.
On that same evening/night for Karnisovas and the Bulls on Aug. 2, another solid guard signing was made. The Bulls nabbed former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Alex Caruso on a four-year deal worth around $37 million in total.
But it was this move to nab DeRozan that really put an exclamation mark on the week already. The Bulls had to ship off two second-round draft picks, one first-round draft pick, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, and veteran forward Thaddeus Young.
That was a lot more for the Bulls to give up than when AK nabbed Lonzo from the Pelicans earlier this week. Here’s a look into the grades for the Bulls sign-and-trade deal with the Spurs for DeRozan.
What the Chicago Bulls had to give up for DeMar DeRozan?
While it might seem like a load for what the Bulls gave up to the Spurs to get DeRozan in return in terms of the players that Karnisovas dealt out, that wasn’t the confusing part of this deal. The part of the sign-and-trade that was a bit of a head-scratcher was all of the draft capital that the Bulls gave up to make this happen.
You can’t argue with the excitement that all of these moves are going to bring to the table for the Bulls heading into next season. When all of the rumors were spilling out at the trade deadline that the Bulls could try to land some combination (or at least one of) star center Nikola Vucevic, DeRozan, and Lonzo, it was hard to think ahead that this team could get all them for the 2021-22 season.
But that is exactly what Karnisovas and Eversley pulled off this week and at the trade deadline back on March 25.
The biggest player asset that the Bulls gave up in this trade deal was Young. The biggest bounce-back player for the Bulls and head coach Billy Donovan last season is a significant loss for this team. But it is likely that either DeRozan or forward Patrick Williams can take his spot at the four in the starting unit.
Aminu was included in this deal to help match salaries. He had exercised his player option this offseason and has one year remaining on his current contract. The Bulls had originally landed Aminu in that deadline day deal that landed them Vooch from the Orlando Magic.
My biggest criticism of this move is all of the draft capital that the Bulls gave up in a sign-and-trade deal. That is an increasing trend of late in sign-and-trades, but the Bulls have now given up three first-round draft picks to land three stars in their 30s that don’t have a single title between the two.
Grading what the Bulls gave up: C
What the Chicago Bulls are getting back with DeMar DeRozan?
It’s clear now that Donovan and the Bulls can round out the starting five with DeRozan and Lonzo in the mix now. The Bulls had a question mark obviously at the point guard position. But this cycle of free agency started out with a bang for the Bulls by AK singing Lonzo on a four-year contract worth around $85 million in total in that sign-and-trade deal with the Pelicans.
DeRozan is now likely to either play at the three for Donovan and the Bulls, with P-Will potentially starting at the four. That would probably make more sense than the Bulls trying to run DeRozan at the four and Williams at the three. But DeRozan was very effective for legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs at the four last season.
DeRozan is a four-time All-Star selection with a plethora of postseason experience between his years spent with the Spurs and Toronto Raptors. He is also a two-time All-NBA Team selection. DeRozan is still putting up All-Star caliber numbers up to last season. During the 2020-21 regular season, DeRozan averaged 21.6 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.2 blocks.
If DeRozan can even see a slight uptick in his numbers next season playing alongside the likes of Lonzo, star shooting guard Zach LaVine, and Vooch, then he could garner his fifth All-Star selection of his career. The main question now is what the Bulls could do with a trio of potential All-Stars next season in the mix.
DeRozan didn’t seem like the best fit for the Bulls to get at the three or the four this offseason. A limited defensive wing combined with another liability at times in LaVine doesn’t spell success for Donovan and the Bulls on that end of the floor. The floor spacing on offense could also suffer with DeRozan in the mix. Still, this addition is big for the Bulls purely in terms of contender status in the Eastern Conference.