Demar DeRozan Trade Rumors: Disgruntled Chicago Bulls Star prefers to go to Knicks or Heat
Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan may end up getting traded during the 2023-24 season. DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls remain far apart on contract extension talks, increasing the likelihood that DeRozan will be made available by the Bulls before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
DeRozan is earning $28.6 million this season in the final year of his original three-year, $81.9 million deal with Chicago,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote via marcstein.substack.com.
If the Bulls do indeed end up making DeRozan available for a trade, they should be able to receive strong value.
A number of teams make sense as potential landing destinations, and a DeRozan trade would change the landscape of whichever conference he joins.
The Bulls’ play over the next month will go a long way in determining which players are traded.
If Chicago goes on a long losing streak and contending appears to be unrealistic, a complete rebuild may be on the way. With the NBA’s In-Season Tournament’s conclusion and critical trade eligibility dates nearing, the NBA trade marketplace is beginning to shape up.
As the league’s teams near the 25-game mark, the Dec. 15 date for most free agents who signed last offseason to become trade-eligible, coupled with the G League Showcase on Dec. 19-22 in Orlando, Fla., (the league’s version of baseball’s Winter Meetings), creates the unofficial beginning of the NBA’s trade season.
As buyers and sellers slowly reveal themselves, teams are keeping close tabs on the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls. But Toronto has lost three games in a row, stands 9-13 on the season and has left teams believing that now, more than ever, either Siakam or Anunoby could be traded by the Feb. 8 deadline.
Teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers are expected suitors for Siakam or Anunoby but believe Siakam appears to be the likelier player to be dealt, league sources tell The Athletic.
Siakam, 29, is earning $37.9 million in the last year of his Raptors contract this season while Anunoby, 26, has a $19.9 million player option for next season that he will almost assuredly decline to enter free agency.
The Hawks held intense conversations with the Raptors surrounding a Siakam deal over the offseason, as The Athletic reported, and the Pacers and Kings have both checked in and engaged at different points with Toronto over the last year.
For the Kings, a better start to this season than a year ago (12-8 this season compared to 11-9 last season en route to a 48-win campaign) provides confidence that they can grow internally rather than compete for the expected cost of talents such as Siakam and Anunoby.
Around the league, many expect the Raptors to scan their options up until the trade deadline.
Elsewhere in Chicago, as The Athletic reported in mid-November, the Bulls are expected to continue probing interested teams on a Zach LaVine trade.
Now, as the Bulls have found their stride over the past week and are just one game out of a Play-In Tournament spot, teams will continue to monitor their approach with LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
A bevy of teams has been expressing interest in trading for Bulls utility star Alex Caruso, league sources say, but the franchise has shut down those calls.
Caruso, whose $9.9 million deal for next season is partially guaranteed, is averaging 9.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20 games this season.
Forward P.J. Tucker has expressed frustration about his current situation with the team, and both sides are discussing ways to resolve a role for him there or elsewhere, according to league sources.
Multiple contending teams are monitoring the Tucker situation in LA. Guard Gabe Vincent is hopeful for a return as soon as Dec. 18 for the Lakers’ home game against the Knicks, according to league sources.
Star guard Ja Morant is ramping up as he prepares for his season debut and is on track to return from a 25-game suspension on Dec. 19 against the Pelicans in New Orleans, league sources say.
Multiple sources who have been able to observe Morant’s training said Morant “looks good” in his on-court play with Grizzlies teammates.
The Grizzlies also hope to keep veteran center Bismack Biyombo on the roster when Morant is removed from the suspension-exempt list and are actively in talks around the league as they weigh their roster situation, league sources say.
Memphis will have to create roster space to keep Biyombo, who joined the roster on a one-year, $5 million deal five games into the season because of a roster exemption with Morant on the suspension list.
Biyombo has been integral to the Grizzlies, who lost Steven Adams for the entire season in October because of right knee surgery.
Barring a setback, Suns guard Bradley Beal is targeting a return on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors in Phoenix, according to league sources.
Jeremy Sochan is making the transition from being San Antonio’s full-time point guard to one of the ballhandlers in the Spurs’ rotation moving forward.
The Spurs had experimented with Sochan playing as the sole point guard, providing him a pathway to develop his playmaking and ballhandling skills.
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