Chicago Bulls players that should immediately benefit from Tristan Thompson: DeMar DeRozan
The benefit that the now five-time All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan from the addition of Thompson this week should be different than that of Dosunmu and/or Jones. DeRozan is going to see more of a direct benefit in all likelihood from the Bulls adding Thompson to their frontcourt unit.
Although, it will be interesting to see how many minutes Donovan and his staff give DeRozan on the floor with Thompson. We should expect to see Thompson mostly coming off the bench with the second unit.
If DeRozan and Thompson do get at least a dozen minutes on the floor per game together, that could develop into an underrated connection. DeRozan tends to thrive when he can work with some traditional big men that are good inside scorers and efficient rebounders. And considering those are two of the big strengths in Thompson’s game, DeRozan should really like what he brings to the table for this team.
For example, during his time with the San Antonio Spurs for three seasons, one of the most effective two-man combinations for DeRozan came with big man Jakob Poeltl. As more of a traditional center, Poeltl has a game that has some similarities to that of Thompson.
Two of the most effective two-man combinations for Thompson during his time with the Kings this season came with two of their top playmakers in new Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton and young scoring guard Terence Davis. That likely will bode well for what’s to come in the emerging connection between DeRozan and Thompson in Chicago.