Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs.
The Chicago Bulls showed that they weren’t done dealing, making a big-time move on Tuesday night. According to multiple reports, Chicago acquired four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan for Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks.
This move comes on the heels of Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley leading off free agency with a sign-and-trade for 6-foot-6 point guard Lonzo Ball.
For Chicago, which finished two games back of the NBA Play-In Tournament last season, entering the 2021-22 season with starting lineup containing three All-Stars is a massive win. Sportsbooks have taken notice, as DraftKings has moved the Bulls from 100-1 on Monday night to 60-1 following the deal.
A huge issue for last season’s Bulls—who finished 21st in the league in offensive rating per NBA.com—was that they lacked ball-handling and scoring once Zach LaVine was off the floor. Now with Nikola Vucevic, Ball, Coby White, and DeRozan flanking him, there is reason to believe that Billy Donovan has enough combinations at his disposal to cobble together an effective offense.
The addition of DeRozan doesn’t necessarily help the Bulls’ defense, which was actually above-average by the numbers last season. But the expectation there is that second-year forward Patrick Williams and the additions of Ball and Alex Caruso will shore up what was once an unimpressive defensive unit.
To top it off, the Bulls still have the restricted free agency of Lauri Markkanen to deal with, so there is a good chance that they still aren’t done making moves.
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