The Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs are reportedly finalizing a sign-and-trade involving DeMar DeRozan.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, DeRozan’s deal with the Bulls will be worth $85 million-plus over three years.
Charania reported Chicago will receive DeRozan while San Antonio will land Thaddeus Young, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN added the Spurs will also get Al-Farouq Aminu.
DeRozan remains a reliable offensive player, averaging 21.6 points and a career-high 6.9 assists per game in 61 appearances in 2020-21. It was his eighth straight season of scoring at least 20 points per game.
The guard continues to develop his game and was extremely efficient in 2019-20, averaging 22.1 points per game while setting a career high with 53.1 percent shooting. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent San Antonio from missing the playoffs for the first time since 1997.
Though the shots didn’t fall at as high a rate this past season (49.5 percent), his 122 offensive rating per 100 possessions was the best of his career.
The 31-year-old also provided a veteran presence on an inexperienced roster, especially after losing LaMarcus Aldridge, to help the Spurs earn a spot in the play-in tournament.
San Antonio will move forward with its younger talent, but DeRozan can help the Bulls move toward contention as one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA.
The ninth overall pick in 2009 earned four All-Star selections during his final five years with the Toronto Raptors, including 2016-17 when his 27.3 points per game ranked fifth in the league. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2017-18 when he led the Raptors to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Though he made fewer headlines after being traded to San Antonio, the guard continued to make an impact and finished inside the top 20 in the NBA in win shares the past two years, per Basketball Reference.
DeRozan’s efficiency and two-way ability could stand out even more with the Bulls, who hope to end a streak of four straight years without a playoff berth. The squad finished 31-41 last year, which was an improvement on past seasons but still below expectations.
