3 Bulls players who greatly improved their trade value in 2023
A month ago, I wrote about 3 Chicago Bulls players who tanked their trade value this season. Admittedly, I was feeling a little pessimistic following their defeat to the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament, and was possibly looking for a finger to point.
While I stick to what I said in that original article, Miami’s postseason run has brought me to see the light. Even after a disappointing season, there are still plenty of silver linings to draw from the Bulls’ efforts this year.
Not everything was doom and gloom, particularly regarding these three players, who did much to bring a lot of hope to us as fans this year. Even if they end up not being a part of the Bulls’ long-term plans, at the very least they did enough to greatly improve their trade value if this team commits to a rebuild.
Although the Chicago Bulls didn’t reach their goals as a team, a few players on the roster still shined as a silver lining to a forgettable season.
3. DeMar DeRozan
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that the Bulls were being heavily criticized by the media and general NBA fans alike for their decision to ink DeMar DeRozan to a three-year, $82 million deal. At the time, they claimed this was a massive overpay. Now, DeMar is undoubtedly a great value deal for any team with championship aspirations.
Unfortunately, it would be foolish to place the Bulls in that category for now, so I can’t be faulted for gauging DeMar’s value on the open market here. To put things in perspective, DeRozan will be paid less than players like Gordon Hayward, Kyle Lowry, and Chris Paul next year. The first year of Jordan Poole’s new contract comes in just right behind DeMar.
That’s tremendous value.
Even if DeRozan isn’t quite good enough to be the top option on a championship team, he’s certainly good enough to be the Robin to someone’s Batman. He’s also getting paid substantially less than other second (or third) options like CJ McCollum, Rudy Gobert, Tobias Harris, and Khris Middleton.
Of all the names mentioned above, only one of these players has been selected to both All-Star Games over the last two seasons. Only one of these players has qualified for an All-NBA Team. That player is DeMar DeRozan.