Bulls GM Reveals Ridiculous Reason for Not Trading DeMar DeRozan Earlier

The Chicago Bulls finally made the long-awaited decision to rebuild this offseason. They moved on from Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, and Andre Drummond while adding younger players with an eye on the future.

The return they got from these players, however, was underwhelming. By letting DeRozan and Drummond hit free agency, and not moving Caruso earlier, the Bulls only have Josh Giddey, Chris Duarte, and a couple of second-round picks to show for that valuable trio.

The reasoning for this will frustrate Bulls fans even more. In an interview with Bulls reporters, general manager Marc Eversley provided a ridiculous reason as to why they didn't move on from these veterans earlier. KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reported Eversley's response that the Bulls kept the core together because DeRozan asked them to.

"When we met with him and talked about the opportunity, we were committed to winning. And we wanted to win right away... DeMar was almost central in that decision of, 'No, give these guys one more chance.’ Like we told him, we're gonna give them an opportunity to win and he was a gigantic part of that reason why we did that."

- Bulls GM Marc Eversley

Basically, instead of doing what's best for the organization in the future, the Bulls did what DeRozan asked them to, which was another chance with this group.

This is unacceptable in a variety of ways. First of all, DeRozan was an upcoming free agent who was coming off his age-34 season where he didn't make an All-Star team. Any team with him as their best player wasn't winning at the highest level. He was a flight risk at the end of the season and he ended up leaving.

Plus, the Bulls had finished the 2022-23 season 40-42 and had a 24-27 record at the 2023-24 trade deadline. What about this team signals a contender in hiding? What about a play-in level team was considered worthy to keep together?

If the Bulls had moved on from DeRozan, Caruso, and Drummond at the trade deadline, they likely would have multiple first-round and second-round picks, as well as an intriguing young player or two on the roster right now. Instead, they got the ninth seed, a play-in exit, and a worse draft pick in the lottery.

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