DeMar DeRozan says he’s committed to the Chicago Bulls amid contract negotiations: ‘I love it here. None of that has changed.’
DeMar DeRozan is used to chatter. As a 15-year veteran of the NBA, he knows how trade cycles — and the rumor mills that surround them — work.
But as the Chicago Bulls navigate a critical trade window focused on moving Zach LaVine, DeRozan feels nothing has changed about his future with the franchise.
Despite a report from Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes that DeRozan and the Bulls are “far apart” on agreeing on a contract extension, the forward says he wants to remain in Chicago.
“Chicago is Chicago to me,” DeRozan told the Tribune. “I love it here. Obviously it’s a place I want to be in my career. None of that has changed. I don’t have no other type of doubts or feelings or suggestions to be elsewhere. That don’t cross my mind.”
DeRozan, 34, never has wavered in this verbal commitment to the Bulls, stating his desire to retire in Chicago. But getting a deal across the line for a contract extension is a little more complicated.
DeRozan signed a three-year, $81.9 million contract in 2021 that will expire this summer. He inarguably has earned every cent of that deal, leading the Bulls as a scorer, playmaker and leader while being named an All-Star in consecutive seasons.
Approaching a new contract, DeRozan is eligible for up to $179 million over a four-year period. It appears DeRozan’s camp will push hard for the upper end of that range. But for the Bulls, the desirability of DeRozan’s contract has always been twofold: the impact he brings on the court and the flexibility his relatively affordable contract provided under the cap.
After undergoing preliminary extension conversations in October per an ESPN report, there hasn’t been any reported movement nearly three months later to bring the sides closer.
The Bulls have two options: secure DeRozan’s future or trade him before he becomes a free agent. DeRozan is too valuable of a trade asset to allow him to walk without a deal. But executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas also has been vocally consistent in expressing his desire to keep the forward for the long term.
DeRozan knows the business. He has been blindsided by a trade before. But DeRozan said he feels conversations between his camp and the Bulls front office have been “constructive” as the Feb. 8 trade deadline nears.
“When things ain’t going right, it’s always easy to throw those narratives out there,” DeRozan said. “It’s just about how you get through it and how you accept the challenge that’s ahead.”
DeRozan isn’t the type of player to toss around ideas with the front office, joking that’s why he wears a jersey, not a suit. So even as the Bulls approach a potential roster reconstruction, DeRozan didn’t want to broach the topic of how the roster could be improved — the only improvement he chose to pitch was finding a way to prevent more injuries.
DeRozan’s goal the next two months is to provide a steadying force for the Bulls locker room. He maintains his relationship with LaVine hasn’t been affected by the trade chatter surrounding the team — and LaVine’s potential departure — over the last month. And he hopes to instill that same unflappable nature into the rest of his teammates as the Bulls attempt to claw back to .500.
“Me being in the league so long, I understand this period of time, it just comes with the occupation,” DeRozan said. “I really don’t pay no mind to it. My priority is to be here, make this organization and this team successful and get through whatever tough stuff we’re going through.”
