Chicago Bulls: DeMar DeRozan to bring elite iso presence

The mixed takes surrounding what the Chicago Bulls are getting out of the former San Antonio Spurs star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan raged on this week. DeRozan is clearly a signing that will help the Bulls end the postseason drought, and definitely be one of the most fun offensive teams to watch in the Eastern Conference heading into next season.

There are other concerns, though, in regard to how DeRozan will fit in the starting unit for head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls next season. This will really put Donovan’s creativity and schematics to the test night in and night out.

The four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team selection DeRozan is set to join a starting unit that is also likely to feature two other All-Stars. This starting unit looks like it could entail Lonzo Ball at the one, star shooting guard Zach LaVine at the two, either DeRozan or Patrick Williams at the three (and the other at the four), and star center Nikola Vucevic at the five.

DeRozan is going to be one of the higher-usage players in this offense. But he’s coming into a group where LaVine, Vucevic, and Lonzo, were already pretty high usage players. LaVine especially was one of the highest usage players in the NBA prior to the team adding Lonzo and DeRozan.

Last season, DeRozan registered a usage rate just north of 26.0. And his career usage sits close to that, at 27.0. Meanwhile, LaVine registered a usage rate last season at 31.0. You don’t get many teams that have two players that have a usage rate the previous season combined of nearly 60. But this is something that Donovan and the Bulls will have to find a way to deal with heading into next season.

How Billy Donovan can work in DeMar DeRozan with the Chicago Bulls?

So how will DeRozan fit into this new offensive system with Donovan and the Bulls?

Moreover, the offensive system that Donovan likes to operate runs with a lot of motion ball screens, dribble-handoffs, and screen-and-roll maneuvers. The point is for there to be a lot of motion going on around the ball-handler.

This ideally should leave a lot of room on the outside for the more common off-ball players, such as P-Will and likely Vucevic, to hit open shots. The real question will be who is commanding the offense as the primary ball-handler in the settled half-court more often, and where from?

The Bulls still look like LaVine’s team, but DeRozan is going to command a lot of the touches. The good news here is that the way that DeRozan molded his game in the past few seasons with the Spurs means that he could really fit nicely in this Donovan offensive system if used right.

In theory, DeRozan could work inside the two-point arc to get some good looks while the four other players in this projected starting unit can be threats from beyond the arc. Or, the Bulls can use DeRozan in pick-and-roll situations with someone like Vooch to get to the basket. LaVine or DeRozan could work as the initiator with Vooch in that situation.

In terms of the dribble-handoff that the Bulls executed well last season between the likes of LaVine, Vooch, and veteran forward Thaddeus Young, there could still be room for DeRozan to be a threat from the mid-range in this play. Or, DeRozan can be the one handing it off. He’s definitely a capable enough passer and ball-handler from inside the arc to do so.

But now that we’ve talked about how DeRozan can fit with this system, it’s time to look at what he excelled most at with the Spurs.

You can’t ignore the production that DeRozan gave the Spurs in isolation looks last season. DeRozan was one of the three or five best players in isolation last season. In fact, he was one of just five players in the NBA that shot better than 50 percent from the field in isolation plays, while initiating iso on at least three possessions per game.

The only other players to do that were Joel Embiid, Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving.

As much as we love to see what LaVine can do as a tough-shot maker when the rest of the offense breaks down, there is proof that DeRozan is the more efficient player in isolation situations. That gives the Bulls yet another threat to work with when the pick-and-roll or dribble-handoff isn’t working so well in-game.

However, this is a good time to loop back in the effectiveness of DeRozan as an isolation player and how that can benefit the Bulls’ starting unit altogether.

DeRozan became a much more proficient distributor and initiator during his three seasons playing with legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs.

When other options start to run out, letting DeRozan take control of the offense and open up more space for the other capable shooters that the Bulls have in the mix could work well. This can be proved by some of the assist numbers DeRozan put up last season.

DeRozan averaged a career-best seven assists per game, with an insane career-best assist percentage north of 32.0, and a turnover percentage less than 10. Those are some pretty crazy numbers for someone who spent most of his minutes playing at the four for the first time in his career.

What is encouraging when you drill deeper is that DeRozan had seven teammates last season with the Spurs that all shot better than 35 percent from beyond the arc when he assisted them. And all but one of those seven players that shot better than 35 percent from beyond the arc on DeRozan assists shot a higher percentage on passes from him than they did on average from that range last season.

DeRozan is clearly adept at finding his open teammates and letting them be effective with more space to work with. That could be great for stars on this Bulls roster that are already premier shooters, such as Vooch and LaVine.

The ability of DeRozan to work in iso situations, and take control of the offense when other options break down, should mix well with the Bulls. DeRozan was an elite player in isolation last season, as he’s been for most of his career.

The Bulls are still going to have some potential issues with spacing the floor if Vooch doesn’t want to see fewer touches, and P-Will’s three-point shooting percentage crumbles this season. He also isn’t the greatest defensive fit alongside other potential liabilities such as LaVine and Vooch. But taking a negative viewpoint to DeRozan’s offensive fit with this team is largely pessimistic. Most of the valid concerns should only lie on defense with DeRozan’s addition to the Bulls.