DeMar DeRozan takes Bulls rookie under his wing with intense workouts

After not seeing the court much in his rookie season in the NBA, many Bulls fans were left wanting more from Dalen Terry this past year. While the front office deserves some flak for drafting a long-term project over a player ready to contribute immediately, we won’t be able to truly evaluate Dalen until he begins playing meaningful minutes.

With several members of last year’s roster set to hit free agency this summer, there’s a very real chance that a spot opens up for Terry to slide up in the depth chart next season. But if that’s going to happen, he first must prove that he deserves anything more than minutes in garbage time.

Fortunately, Terry seems to be taking the task at hand very seriously, as he’s joined Bulls star forward DeMar DeRozan for his summer workout program. Recently, a video was shared on DeMar’s Instagram story of the two working on their ball-handling.

A summer spent working out with DeMar DeRozan could be just what Dalen Terry needs to find a big role with the Bulls.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen DeRozan hold himself personally accountable for the development of the young core. At his end-of-season presser, DeMar claimed that it would be mandatory for anyone under 24 years old to join him during his infamously grueling offseason workouts. Patrick Williams and Coby White have joined DeRozan for these workouts in the past, and they’ll be the first to tell you just how rough it can be.

“I think he put me through everything. If that wasn’t everything, then he’s different,” said Williams, “The workout starts at 5 a.m. Starts at 5 on the dot. Not 5:01, not 4:59 — 5 a.m. You can’t be pulling in the parking lot at 5 a.m. We probably got there at 4:30. I was still sleepy when he came to pick me up, so I don’t know exactly what time ”

DeRozan’s workout regimen includes an intense weight-lifting session followed by an in-depth breakdown of various scenarios on the court. Williams continued, “He puts himself through every situation he can possibly be in in the game – every double-team, triple-team. It’s different. One-on-one, one-on-three. It’s just different.”

It should come as no surprise then, that we’ve seen Coby and Pat display massive improvements to their ball handling skills and each become dangerous shooting threats since coming under DeMar’s tutelage. The finesse and technical aspects of DeRozan’s game are things that simply can’t be replicated without thousands of hours of practice, no matter how talented you are.

This is why we should all be pleased to see Dalen joining in on the summer workouts. If he can develop into a consistent shooter from outside as well as a secondary ball handler, the front office’s vision for Dalen Terry as a versatile combo forward and 3-and-D threat may just come to fruition.