It’s been a tough season for the Chicago Bulls.
Arturas Karnisovas’ plan to revamp the roster hasn’t panned out just yet, and their desperate need for a pass-first point guard has been evident for most of the year.
That’s why plenty of people believe they could be sellers ahead of the trade deadline, with Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine as potential trade candidates.
However, it’s been DeMar DeRozan as the one to gauge the most league-wide interest thus far, and for very good reasons.
The veteran has recently reached the 1,000-game plateau, yet it doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down at all.
1,000 career games. Congrats, DeMar! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/IHYiaf2toU
— NBA (@NBA) January 24, 2023
Throughout the season, the former Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs star has averaged 26.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 50.6% shooting.
DeRozan was coming off an MVP-caliber season last year, and he’s willing the Bulls into contention night in and night out, even when the rest of the team is struggling to keep that same intensity.
So, there’s no wonder why multiple contenders should be interested in trading for DeRozan, assuming he is — in fact — available.
However, he’s still under a very lucrative contract, and fitting it into a contenders’ payroll could be a complicated task, not to mention the fact that the Bulls would only let him go in return for multiple draft picks.
Right now, Billy Donovan‘s team is sitting on a 22-24 record and the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference.
And while they could still make a run at the playoffs, it’s evident that they’d be better off hitting the drawing board and rebuilding again.
NEXT: Bulls Are Being Careful With Their Beloved Guard