DeMar DeRozan is playing like an All-Star starter right now. After three years of struggles with the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors legend has turned back the clock and proved that he can still lead an NBA team to the playoffs.
DeRozan drew plenty of attention in free agency, with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers reportedly interested in his services. Nonetheless, no one thought he could still produce at this rate.
In the end, DeRozan ended up taking his talents to the Windy City to sign with the Chicago Bulls, not only because of how their roster was shaping up but because of how much it would mean to lead such a storied franchise to a title.
DeMar DeRozan Explains Why He Signed With The Bulls
“I’ve done, did everything other than make the finals… It gave me that whole underdog mentality I have had my whole career…Imagine going there and winning in Chicago, oh my god,” DeRozan said on the Knuckleheads Podcast.
Nikola Vucevic Recruited DeRozan
Several months ago, the former Raptors star also admitted that having the chance to play with Nikola Vucevic again after their days at USC also played a big part in his decision to join the Bulls:
“It really came from Vucevic,” DeRozan confessed. “That was my man, and for years, even when he was in Orlando, we always was tryna figure out ‘We need to play together, we need to play together.’ A lot of the times it’d be like bs.”
“But the opportunity presented itself after he got traded to Chicago,” DeRozan added. “We had a conversation during the season, when we played them late in the season, he was like “Look you’re a free agent, let’s see what we can do”. I was like “I’m gonna keep that on my radar”. As things transpired, it just started making more and more sense. Had my conversation with Zach, and just everything else from there fell into place.”
DeRozan is averaging 27.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on 50.6% from the floor and the Bulls look like a legit dark horse out of the Eastern Conference, so it clearly paid off for him.
