Getty DeMar DeRozan #11 of the Chicago Bulls.
At one point this offseason, the Chicago Bulls were on the list of teams said to be exploring trades for Damian Lillard. The now-Milwaukee Bucks star may not have landed with the Bulls but one of the connections that made it plausible remains strong: his connection to Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, a friend and fellow Goodwin Sports Management client.
“My brother fr,” Lillard said in the caption of a video of him and DeRozan catching up before the Bulls and Bucks faced off on October 8 on Instagram.
“Locked in,” DeRozan exclaimed in a repost of the clip.
DeMar DeRozan and Damian Lillard.
Oh, what could have been…
Lillard has long been a supporter of DeRozan, weighing in on the former’s trade to the San Antonio Spurs in 2018.
“It’s disappointing,” Lillard said via Orlando Sanchez of KGW TV in June of 2018. “DeMar is a friend of mine, and I know how he felt about being in Toronto. Been there his whole career. … You understand that it’s a business. But that’s just an unfortunate situation, and I never saw it coming.”
Exploring Damian Lillard Trade Fit Bulls’ Agenda
Chicago’s interest in Lillard quickly shifted to getting in on the potential fallout including Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro had Lillard gotten his wish for a trade to South Beach. They were also on the short list of teams thought to be of interest to Jrue Holiday.
Portland acquired Holiday from Milwaukee in the Lillard trade, and Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said in February that he had discussions with Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas in “every transaction window” to resolve their previous deal. The Blazers still owe the Bulls a first-round pick that is lottery-protected through 2028.
But Cronin traded Holiday to the Boston Celtics.
The Bulls are still owed the Blazers’ pick. But it is unclear if it will be conveyed before turning into a pair of second-round picks in 2028 as they enter their rebuild.
All of that came after Chicago was also in the rumor mill for gauging the trade interest in Zach LaVine this offseason but has maintained a high asking price for the two-time All-Star. LaVine made it clear the rumors did not come from his camp so the Bulls’ front office was following through on Karnisovas’ long-standing vow to “look at everything” to improve the roster.
How they may go about doing that as the trade deadline gets closer will be something to keep an eye on. They now have the top-end talent to send to contenders in a rebuild as well as players on mid-tier contracts that can be combined to make a splash trade and add to this core.
Bulls Could Have Chance to Sign Giannis Antetokounmpo in Free Agency
One of the ripple effects of Lillard’s trade to Milwaukee was that it seemingly meant Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo would be more inclined to sign an extension next offseason, thus foiling the Bulls’ potential long-term plans.
But Antetokounmpo said that he still plans on holding off on an extension, citing financial reasons for his stance.
“It did not make sense to sign a contract right now. Because money is not important. A lot of f****** money is important. So I’m going to sign it next year,” Antetokounmpo joked during media day via the Bucks on October 2. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t make sense. It does not make sense for me to sign it.”
That leaves the door open for the Bulls, albeit ever so slightly.
“At the end of the day, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career as long as we are winning,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s simple as that.”