Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors.
It’s the offseason for the Chicago Bulls but for some of their players, ball truly is life.
“Chef Curry a bad man!!,” tweeted Bulls star DeMar DeRozan on April 30 after watching Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry set the record for points in a Game 7, eliminating the Sacramento Kings in the process.
Curry, 35, averaged 33.7 points on 48.8% shooting including 37.8% of his threes with 4.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds in the series.
The Bulls held the four-time NBA champion to 19.5 points on just 45.2% shooting from the floor in their two meetings. But he also added 10.5 rebounds and shot 38.9% from beyond the arc in those contests in which the two teams split. Chicago won the most recent meeting, snapping an 11-game losing streak to their Western Conference foe.
Golden State is notably helmed by head coach and former Bull Steve Kerr. But they were almost DeRozan’s team before he ultimately joined the Bulls on a three-year, $81.9 million contract as a free agent in the summer of 2021.
“DeRozan garnered interest from several other teams early in free agency, such as Philadelphia, Portland, Phoenix, Golden State, Boston and New York,” reported Jake Fischer for Bleacher Report after DeRozan signed with the Bulls. “For Golden State, acquiring DeRozan would have necessitated a complicated salary-matching sign-and-trade with the Spurs that would have sent out Kelly Oubre. But that framework never gained much traction, sources said.”
DeRozan, 33, is heading into the final year of his current deal and is eligible for a three-year, $179 million extension, per ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks.
DeMar DeRozan Plans on Spreading the Floor
He’s also still adding to his game as the style of play in the NBA trends more in line with Curry’s skill set than his.
DeRozan initially brushed off questions about how he would change his game this offseason saying that he’s more intent on improving what he is already good at. But he went on to acknowledge a desire and the need for him to take more shots from three-point range next season.
The Bulls ranked 30th in threes taken and made (they were 16th in efficiency) while DeRozan knocked down just 32.4% of his deep looks – down from the 35.2% he shot in the 2021-22 season on identical volume.
He did shoot 33.3% from long distance after the All-Star break.
Don’t Anticipate DeMar DeRozan’s Departure
There have been some whispers the Bulls could look to move him as part of their efforts to change their shot profile. But it does not sound as though the veteran has designs on moving on, making a demand that his younger teammates join him to train this offseason.
Anything can happen and everything should be on the table when the team falls short of expectations as the Bulls did this past season.
They could stand to replenish their assets before he can leave for another team and the Bulls were not his first option during his last venture into free agency. But it’s at least as easy to envision DeRozan suiting up for the Bulls next season and, perhaps, even beyond with a potential contract extension being in the realm of possibilities as well.
