Getty Lakers coach Darvin Ham (left) and LeBron James
In a December 13 article called “The Chicago Bulls Need To Be Open To A DeMar DeRozan Trade,” Morten Stig Jensen of Forbes proposed that the Los Angeles Lakers trade three players and their draft picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Chicago Bulls for DeMar DeRozan.
Jensen’s hypothetical trade had the Lakers sending Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV, Kendrick Nunn and two draft picks to the Bulls for DeRozan, Tony Bradley and Marko Simonovic.
“The Lakers have been heavily rumored as a DeRozan destination,” Jensen wrote. “If Anthony Davis stays healthy, and continues his MVP caliber play, the Lakers could be motivated enough by the glare of another championship that forking over both the 2027 and 2029 first-rounders, fully unprotected, wouldn’t be an entirely unrealistic scenario. In theory, the Lakers could pull off a DeRozan trade without relinquishing Russell Westbrook if they wanted to. Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker, and Kendrick Nunn would instead go to Chicago, who’d send Tony Bradley and Marko Simonovic along.”
DeRozan agreed to a three-year, $85 million contract with the Bulls in August 2021 as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the San Antonio Spurs. The five-time All-Star is making $27.3 million this season and will have earned more than $257 million when his contract ends following the 2023-24 season.
Report: Lakers Want DeRozan
The Lakers want to acquire DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic from the Bulls, according to a December 10 report from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Teams are “watching Chicago very closely” as the Bulls continue to struggle this season. Chicago is only 11-15 after winning 46 games in 2021-22.
“According to NBA sources, the Lakers are interested in both Vucevic and DeRozan,” Pincus reported. “If L.A. is willing to give up two first-round picks (2027 and 2029) along with Russell Westbrook as a buy-out candidate, the Bulls may end up in a better lottery position to retain their pick in June. This is the draft to do it.”
DeRozan is averaging 26.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season while shooting 50.7% from the field, 31.4% from beyond the arc and 89.1% from the free-throw line. The USC product took part in meetings at LeBron James’ house during the summer of 2021 and thought he was going to sign with the Lakers. However, Los Angeles traded for Russell Westbrook instead.
“To my knowledge, I thought it was a done deal.” DeMar DeRozan really thought he was going to be a Laker.
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“I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and that we were going to figure it out. I was going to come home,” DeRozan told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports in November 2021. “The business side of things just didn’t work out. A couple of things didn’t align. It didn’t work out. It’s just part of the business, part of the game.”
If the Bulls decide to blow things up, DeRozan is interested in getting traded to the Lakers, league sources told Heavy.com.
Report: Bulls Don’t Want Westbrook
According to a December 9 report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls aren’t interested in acquiring Westbrook, who has been on the trade block since last season. The one-time MVP is on an expiring contract.
“So while the Lakers might be looking to make a big trade and have their eyes on the Bulls’ roster, the feeling isn’t mutual,” Cowley wrote. “According to a source, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has no interest in acquiring Russell Westbrook and his expiring contract, even if it means adding draft picks.”
The Bulls already have several guards on the roster, so adding Westbrook wouldn’t make sense even if they decide to rebuild.