DeMar DeRozan
For some odd reason, the Chicago Bulls have accepted being a mediocre team and refused to start a rebuild or even a partial one. There were a plethora of trade rumors involving all three of the Bulls’ core guys in Alex Caruso, Zach Lavine and DeMar DeRozan. At the end of the day, the Bulls stayed pat. However, there is no guarantee that DeRozan will choose to re-sign in Chicago once he hits the free-agent market this summer.
At 34, DeRozan's clock is ticking to get the best out of a contending situation. The thing that works in his favor is he has the skills and IQ to age like fine wine, similar to Jimmy Butler. DeRozan has earned a reputation for being a midrange master. He is a former multi-time All-Star and All-NBA talent and is a true hooper in this league. He is also in that same age and title window as Butler, along with being very close friends. It could be very enticing to a player of his caliber to get one last chance in a winning situation in one of the best markets down in Miami.
DeRozan is still putting up the stats to justify his name as well. He is averaging 23.0 points, 5.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 47.1% shooting. Also for someone who is known to be a bad outside shooter, he has at least a respectable 34.3% in that department and is capable of getting hot. The notion that the fit won’t work with Butler based on the shooting alone doesn’t make as much sense right now because Butler is shooting a career-high 45.4% from three. They are both capable of efficient outside shooting, Butler especially.
Great players find a way to get it done, making it even easier for players who have a strong relationship off the court like these two do.