DeMar DeRozan

Bulls Notes: DeRozan, LaVine, Continuity, Williams, White

April 28th, 2022 at 3:34pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan says he has no doubt that All-Star teammate Zach LaVine deserves a max contract this summer, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. As an unrestricted free agent with seven years of experience, LaVine is eligible for a five-year deal from Chicago worth approximately $212MM.

“Yeah. Max player, max talent, max everything,” DeRozan said when asked if LaVine is a max-worthy player after the Bulls’ season-ending loss to the Bucks Wednesday night. “He’s one of those players in this league that you don’t see too often. I tell him all the time how envious I am of the things he’s able to do. He deserves everything that’s coming to him for sure.”

DeRozan added that LaVine is extremely competitive in everything he does, on and off the court.

“(He’s) just the ultimate competitor,” DeRozan said of LaVine. “That’s the best way I can sum it up. No matter what it is. I remember, we played tic tac toe on the plane, and I kept beating him and he wouldn’t leave me alone until he beat me. And that’s just him on the court as well.”

Here’s more from Chicago:

Center Nikola Vucevic said the front office and coaches stressed continuity in his season-ending exit interview following the team’s playoff ouster. “They want to have continuity, that’s for sure,” Vucevic said, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “As far as moves they can make, I don’t really know that. That’s their job.”
DeRozan also believes the team’s core will return next season, but that doesn’t mean management won’t look to improve the roster if the opportunity presents itself (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). “Just like we’re competitors, they are as well — for the right reasons,” DeRozan said.
Forward Patrick Williams says he’s looking to improve his consistency next season and has studied DeRozan’s habits to learn how to prepare as a pro. For his part, DeRozan says he plans to invite Williams and other teammates to work out with him in L.A. this summer (all Twitter links courtesy of Johnson and Schaefer from NBC Sports Chicago).
Coby White, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, said management told him to keep working on his ball-handling and to build up his strength in order to become a better defender, as Schaefer relays (via Twitter).

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Vucevic, Bradley, DeRozan

April 27th, 2022 at 10:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

A new contract for Zach LaVine will be among the Bulls‘ top priorities for the offseason, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN. LaVine, who has been a bargain on the four-year, $80MM offer sheet that Chicago matched in 2018, ranked 58th in the league in salary this season at $19.5MM, Marks notes.

Coming off back-to-back All-Star appearances, LaVine is eligible for a five-year max contract worth approximately $212MM. The only concern for the Bulls is durability, Marks adds, as LaVine missed 15 games this season, which was the fewest in his five years in Chicago.

Eleven of those games were due to soreness in his left knee, which had to be surgically repaired in 2017, and LaVine will likely have surgery on the knee again this offseason. His current contract contains a clause that protects the Bulls in case of a catastrophic injury to the knee, but the team shouldn’t expect him to agree to that in a new deal, according to Marks.

Marks cites five teams — the Pistons, Pacers, Magic, Spurs and Trail Blazers — that project to have enough cap space to make LaVine a $36.6MM max offer.

There’s more from Chicago:

Another major decision is a potential four-year, $118MM extension for center Nikola Vucevic, Marks states in the same piece. Vucevic, who was acquired at the 2021 trade deadline, regressed somewhat in his first full season with the Bulls, finishing fifth worst in the league in effective field goal percentage among players who took at least 500 shots and declining in three-point shooting from 40% to 31%. Marks suggests he might receive a two-year, $40MM extension similar to what Clint Capela got from the Hawks last year.
Tony Bradley, who started 10 games at center this season, has until June 29 to decide on his $2MM player option for 2022/23, Marks adds. Bradley only averaged 10 minutes per night in 55 games in his first season in Chicago, and he can make $100K more next season on a veteran’s minimum contract.
LaVine missed tonight’s game after being placed in health and safety protocols, and it may have been difficult for him to return if the Bulls had extended the series. “He’s pretty sick,” coach Billy Donovan said. “… He’s definitely under the weather, just in my communication with him.” (video link from NBC Sports Chicago)
Even though it ended with a first-round loss, DeMar DeRozan was very happy with his first season as a Bull, tweets KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “Perfect. Couldn’t have went a better way,” DeRozan said. “It’s been a great year to say the least. Just being around the front office, teammates, city. Everything has been something more than I could’ve imagined.”

Central Notes: LeVert, DeRozan, LaVine, Bucks

April 17th, 2022 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

An untimely injury prevented Caris LeVert from providing the help the Cavaliers needed for their injured backcourt, but he hopes to be part of the organization for many years to come, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. LeVert, who was acquired from the Pacers at the trade deadline, missed nearly a month with a sprained foot he suffered after just four games with his new team. He wound up playing 19 games for the Cavs and wants to be part of the long-term future in Cleveland.

“This is where I want to be,” said LeVert, who will be eligible for an extension this summer. “They know that. The front office knows that. My teammates know that. I don’t know what’s going to happen with that contract extension, but I know where my heart is, I know where I want to be. We’ll see what happens going forward.”

After being traded twice during his six years in the NBA, LeVert likes the idea of stability. At 27, he fits in well with the rest of the Cavaliers’ young roster, although the team faces a decision on whether there’s room for both him and free agent guard Collin Sexton. The front office had been hoping to see how LeVert fits alongside Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen, but injuries kept that group from playing together until the final game of the Cavs’ season.

There’s more from the Central Division:

DeMar DeRozan had several options in free agency, but he picked the Bulls because he wanted to help rebuild a franchise that had fallen on hard times, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. DeRozan posted a career-best scoring season and led the Bulls back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. “I’m big on the underdog mentality. A lot of people run from those challenges. Me, I really want to see what I’m made of in those moments. You leave your own mark that way. I’m always big on that,” DeRozan said. “I want to go somewhere and leave my mark or start something that hasn’t been done. To me, that’s more honorable. You started it and took on the challenge.”
Bulls guard Zach LaVine is finally in the playoffs after seven years of playing for losing teams, notes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. LaVine hopes the postseason will be a regular occurrence after a chaotic start to his NBA career. “It was very mind-opening to me when I got here — this guy’s had six different coaches,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s played on different teams. And he hasn’t necessarily been a part of a lot of success. Zach’s has always wanted to win. It’s always been important to him. I’m happy for him because you see the work he puts in.”
Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscriber link) looks at three reasons why the Bucks can repeat as NBA champions and three reasons that they might not.

Bulls Notes: DeRozan, LaVine, Losing Streak, Ball, Caruso

April 9th, 2022 at 10:34am CST by Rory Maher

After another blowout loss on Friday night, this time at the hands of the Hornets by a score of 133-117, Bulls stars DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine didn’t mince words about the way the team performed, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Charlotte started the game 11-for-11 from the field and scored 79 points in the first half, the most Chicago has allowed in a half this season.

“We got our a—- beat. Simple as that,” DeRozan said. “They attacked us. We couldn’t guard them. They had their way.”

Fans at the United Center booed the Bulls at a couple separate points during the listless performance, and LaVine said those boos were earned.

“To be honest, they should (boo). It’s embarrassing,” LaVine said. “We’re a really good basketball team and we’re not playing like it. They (the fans) know that. We know that. It’s understandable. We understand they have our back. But we have to play better.”

Chicago has lost four straight heading into Sunday’s finale at Minnesota and is locked into the No. 6 seed in the East after Toronto beat Houston on Friday. LaVine said the mood in the locker room isn’t great right now, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“Everybody is upset, man. We’re getting our a– kicked. They just jumped on us,” LaVine said. “We singing the same story, and I always try to be very uplifting and try to see the bright side, but I’m tired of talking. We say a lot of words and we say the right thing, but we got to figure it out. We’re not doing that, plain and simple.”

As Schaefer notes, the Bulls are struggling at the worst possible time with the playoffs looming — they’re just 7-15 since the All-Star break and playing poorly on both ends of the court, with the fifth-worst point differential in the league during that span.

Here’s more on Chicago:

DeRozan said he’s not interested in resting for the finale, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s nothing like having a rhythm while playing,” DeRozan said after Wednesday’s loss. “I’m going to continue to play this thing out, and hopefully we’re going in the right direction come next week. It’s going to come. It sucks right now over the last couple of weeks, but I have the utmost confidence in the guys.”
LaVine was less certain about his status for Sunday’s game, but said he’d rather play if he can, as Schaefer relays. “We’ll evaluate it. I don’t know yet,” LaVine said. “I’ve been playing injured the whole year. I want to continue to fight. But I’m gonna listen to the medical staff, my team, and figure out what’s best for us moving forward. But I plan on trying to play.” LaVine has been battling left knee soreness throughout the season.
Head coach Billy Donovan said Lonzo Ball will continue to rehab in Chicago with the goal of reducing discomfort in his surgically repaired left knee, but a second surgery doesn’t appear to be necessary, Cowley writes in a separate story. “I have not heard anything, or no one has told anything to me that he will need another surgery,” Donovan said. “So I don’t necessarily believe that is going to take place.” Ball was ruled out for the season on Wednesday after experiencing a couple setbacks during rehab.
Within the same article, Donovan said Alex Caruso is still dealing with back problems. “He still has some mobility issues, discomfort,” Donovan said. “He’s been hampered with the back for some time now.” As Cowley observes, it sounds like Caruso might not be 100% for the playoffs — he has missed the past two games while dealing with the injury.

Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Vogel, Front Office, More

April 8th, 2022 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook “never respected” head coach Frank Vogel, a person with knowledge of the situation tells Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

“The moment Frank said anybody who gets the rebound can bring it up the court, which is just how the NBA is played these days, Russ was like, ‘Naw, I’m the point guard. Give the ball to me. Everybody run,'” the source told Woike and Turner. “Frank was like, ‘No, we have Talen (Horton-Tucker). We have Austin (Reaves). We have Malik (Monk). We have LeBron (James). We have AD (Anthony Davis). They can all bring the ball up.’ He was like, ‘Nope, I’m the point guard. Give me that s–t. Everybody get out the way.’

“From that point on, in training camp, it was a wrap, ‘cause now Russ is a fish out of water. He doesn’t know what to do. That’s how that started.”

Both the Times’ report and an in-depth Insider-only story from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN paint Vogel as one of Westbrook’s bigger supporters, resisting pushes from staffers and players to pull him from the starting lineup as the season went on. According to Shelburne, there were people in the organization who felt that only “humiliation” would prompt Westbrook to change his playing style to better fit in, but Vogel wanted to stand by him and give him the chance to figure things out.

However, Shelburne hears from team insiders that – in addition to being a poor on-court fit – Westbrook wasn’t a good “personality fit” alongside a non-confrontational coach like Vogel and a passive-aggressive star like James.

According to Woike and Turner, some Lakers staffers began to wonder during the season if the club had made a big mistake by not re-signing Jared Dudley to be a “locker-room buffer” who could help integrate Westbrook. The team had also wanted to hire Westbrook’s former coach Scott Brooks as an assistant on Vogel’s staff, but didn’t have the spot or the money for him after giving Mike Penberthy a promotion and a raise to prevent Jason Kidd from poaching him for his staff in Dallas, says Shelburne.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Although Vogel appears likely to be replaced after the season is over, the front office leadership group – led by Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis – is expected to remain intact and in power going forward, sources tell Shelburne.
The Lakers, who were unwilling to attach their 2027 first-round pick to Westbrook at the trade deadline to grease the wheels on a deal, appear similarly reluctant to waive him this offseason and stretch his $47MM salary across three seasons, reports Shelburne. Releasing Westbrook might appeal more to the team if he were willing to give up money in a buyout agreement, but sources close to the guard have expressed pessimism that he’ll do so, Shelburne writes.
One reason the Lakers acquired Westbrook rather than DeMar DeRozan last summer was timing-related — the team was able to move on Westbrook around the draft since he was under contract, whereas working out a sign-and-trade for DeRozan would’ve meant waiting for free agency (and coming up with a package that the Spurs would accept). However, sources close to the situation say that James’ and Davis’ enthusiasm for Westbrook were a significant factor in L.A.’s shift in focus as well, per Shelburne.

Bulls Notes: Playoffs, Rest, LaVine, Ball

April 5th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

After the Cavs lost to the Magic on Tuesday, the Bulls clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2017, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

“I’m happy for our guys, I’m happy for our organization,” coach Billy Donovan said of the playoff berth. “You want to be playing at that time of the year. A lot of these guys haven’t experienced this.”

However, Chicago lost to Milwaukee 127-106, raising more questions than answers about the team’s chances as the playoffs loom, according to Cowley. The Bulls were swept by both the Bucks and Sixers this season, and there’s a good chance they’ll face one of them in the first round.

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Donovan said that resting players who feel like they need it over the last three games will take precedence, although he believes that playing would help them stay sharp ahead of the playoffs (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).
That could be particularly important for Zach LaVine, who missed the team’s practice on Monday and shootaround on Tuesday in addition to the Bucks game. Donovan said LaVine’s left knee was bothering him Tuesday morning, but the team’s medical staff indicated that it likely wouldn’t be a multiple-game absence, per Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). LaVine’s status for Wednesday’s game against Boston is unknown, and he’s considered day-to-day going forward — obviously that could change with the team clinching a playoff berth.
DeMar DeRozan said Lonzo Ball‘s impact on the team will be sorely missed, as Schaefer relays (via Twitter). “He brings a different type of swagger to us when he plays…From his passing, his IQ, his capability to knock down shots…The whole dynamic of the game changes with ‘Zo out there,” DeRozan said. Ball is expected to be shut down for the rest of the season after experiencing more discomfort in his knee.

Lakers Notes: Davis, James, Injuries, DeRozan

April 4th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers aren’t technically out of playoff contention yet, but after falling two games (and a tiebreaker) behind San Antonio in the Western Conference standings on Sunday, their odds of claiming a spot in the play-in tournament are increasingly slim — in fact, the Lakers could be officially eliminated as soon as Tuesday if they lose in Phoenix and the Spurs win in Denver.

Following Sunday’s loss, Anthony Davis sounded like someone who recognized that L.A.’s season is all but over, as he reflected on “what could have been” if the team had been healthier.

“I think the biggest thing that I think about personally is what we could have been, had we stayed healthy all year,” Davis said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “What could we have been. … Guys feel like, ‘OK, what could we have been if I was healthy all year, [LeBron James] was healthy, [Kendrick] Nunn was healthy.’ You think about those things. We put this team together and it looked good on paper, but we haven’t had a chance to reach that potential with guys in and out of the lineup.”

Davis, who has only played in half of the Lakers’ 78 games so far this season, has been bothered throughout his career by injuries, but he bristled at the perception that he’s fragile, telling Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times that he hasn’t been sidelined due to “little ticky-tack injuries.”

“This is what I’ve learned about injuries,” Davis said. “Last year when I wasn’t playing, people were saying, ‘AD’s giving up on his team. It’s the playoffs. AD has to play. He’s got to play.’ And when I went out there to play, got hurt again, they said, ‘Who was his trainer? Who let him play?’

“So, what the [expletive] do you want me to do? When I play, it’s a problem. It’s a problem when I don’t play. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do what’s best for me and how my body feels. And we go from there. I’m not worried about who’s saying what or who thinks this about me because none of them have stepped on the floor and played. And the ones that did play, they should understand.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

A source familiar with James’ status told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the star forward is “unlikely” to play on Tuesday vs. Phoenix. However, according to McMenamin, the source said there’s still a chance that could change if LeBron’s ankle improves more than expected by tomorrow night.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic and his colleague John Hollinger both pushed back against the idea that injuries have been the primary cause of the Lakers’ disappointing season. Buha observed that even in games when Davis and James played, the team was just 11-11, while Hollinger said the team’s offseason plan needs to be better than simply running it back and hoping its two superstars stay healthy in 2022/23.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up and First Take on Monday, former Lakers president Magic Johnson criticized the club for not acquiring DeMar DeRozan last offseason instead of Russell Westbrook (link via Jenna Lemoncelli of The New York Post). While that’s not an unreasonable take, given that DeRozan had interest in playing for his hometown team, Johnson’s assertion that the Lakers could’ve had DeRozan, Buddy Hield, Alex Caruso, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead of Westbrook is a fantasy that doesn’t pass muster. Unless DeRozan had been willing to sign for the taxpayer mid-level exception (which wasn’t viewed as a viable option at the time), L.A. would’ve become hard-capped by acquiring him and would have had no way of carrying all those contracts in addition to James’ and Davis’ maximum salaries. Acquiring both DeRozan and Hield without giving up Caldwell-Pope also likely wouldn’t have been possible due to salary-matching rules.

Bulls Notes: DeRozan, Williams, Ball, Vucevic

April 1st, 2022 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

With Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid putting up monster numbers on a near-nightly basis and the Bulls struggling in recent weeks, DeMar DeRozan isn’t getting the same level of MVP buzz he was earlier in the season. However, his 50-point outburst on Thursday in a win over the Clippers was a reminder of how important he has been to the Bulls this season, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.

DeRozan said after the game that he was more focused on getting the victory than on becoming the sixth player in team history to score 50 points in a game, since Chicago can’t afford to risk falling into play-in territory.

“The win is more meaningful,” DeRozan said, per Sullivan. “I just wanted to win this game, badly. You see how tight the (Eastern Conference) race is. Every game is extremely important. We have no more room to be dropping any more games.”

The Bulls’ 45-32 record puts them in fifth place in the East, 1.5 games behind the No. 4 Sixers and just a half-game ahead of the No. 6 Raptors. Chicago has a three-game lead on the No. 7 Cavs, so barring a disaster down the stretch, the team should secure a top-six seed and a guaranteed playoff spot.

Here’s more out of Chicago:

Patrick Williams admitted to reporters on Thursday that he was fined by the Bulls after being late to the team’s morning shootaround, as Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Williams, who hadn’t made much of an impact since returning from a wrist injury on March 21, made up for his tardiness with his best game of the season on Thursday, putting up 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
After having his rehab process paused for 10 days, Lonzo Ball will resume the ramp-up process toward full-speed sprinting and cutting, head coach Billy Donovan said on Thursday (link via Schaefer at NBC Sports Chicago). Time is running out for Ball to return this season, but the Bulls haven’t considered shutting him down. “Certainly every day that goes by and time that passes by, you know, you’re moving closer and closer to the end of the season,” Donovan said. “But I have not gotten anything from the doctors that said to me, like, ‘Listen, there’s just not enough time, we can’t get him back.’ They’re gonna do everything they can to try to get him back. But a lot’s gonna be depending on how he responds to this.”
In his latest mailbag, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago discussed several Bulls-related topics, including Williams’ development and ceiling and Nikola Vucevic‘s future in Chicago.

And-Ones: Jerebko, Canaan, China, Teammate Award, Future Rankings

March 31st, 2022 at 7:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While some former NBA players have left Russian teams following the invasion into Ukraine, Jonas Jerebko is resuming his career there. The ex-NBA big man signed with CSKA Moscow, the team tweets. That didn’t sit well with the Swedish National Team, who suspended him, according to Johnny Askounis of EuroHoops.net. “Unfortunately, we are forced to state that there are no conditions for Jonas Jerebko to play for the Sweden basketball national team,” a Swedish Basketball Federation press release stated in part. Jerebko played for four NBA teams.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Another Russian team, Unics Kazan, has mutually parted ways with guard Isaiah Canaan, according to a EuroHoops.net story. Canaan is joining Turkey’s Galatasaray, EuroHoops tweets. Canaan appeared in 235 NBA games, most recently during the 2018/19 campaign.
Chinese TV has resumed broadcasts of NBA games, Sopan Deb of the New York Times reports. China had boycotted NBA broadcasts since 2019, when former Houston executive Daryl Morey tweeted support for pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. China Central Television, its state-run TV network, broadcasted Tuesday night’s matchup between the Clippers and Jazz, which kicked off a full return of the league to China’s airwaves.
The 12 finalists for the league’s Teammate of the Year award have been announced, the NBA announced (via Twitter). DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Jeff Green , Udonis Haslem, Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Jaren Jackson Jr., Kevin Love, Boban Marjanovic, Chris Paul, Fred VanVleet and Grant Williams are the contenders. The annual honor recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
The Grizzlies top the list on ESPN’s Future Power Rankings, according to Kevin Pelton, Bobby Marks, Andre’ Snellings, and Tim Bontemps (Insider link). They’re followed by the Heat and Suns. The Kings sit at the bottom of the pile.

Bulls Notes: Offseason, LaVine, DeRozan, Thompson

March 26th, 2022 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls‘ prolonged slump could affect offseason decisions if they can’t turn things around in time for the playoffs, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago was one of the league’s early-season surprises with new additions DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso meshing immediately and leading the team to the top of the Eastern Conference. But the Bulls have struggled amid a rash of injuries and are currently just one game away from the play-in tournament.

Cowley suggests an early playoff exit would make the front office more willing to part with one of its core pieces, such as center Nikola Vucevic, who will have an expiring $22MM contract next season. Cowley believes Chicago would have interest in Rudy Gobert if the Jazz make him available or Suns center Deandre Ayton, who is headed toward restricted free agency.

Another possibility is parting with free agent guard Zach LaVine, who will be a free agent this summer and is eligible to re-sign for five years at roughly $210MM. LaVine has experienced lingering pain in his left knee through much of the season, and Cowley thinks the Bulls might be open to a sign-and-trade if they decide to break up their core.

There’s more from Chicago:

LaVine is determined to stay in the lineup as he nears the first playoff appearance of his eight-year career, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. LaVine visited a knee specialist just before the All-Star break, and the Bulls are managing his playing time to help him remain productive. “I’m doing everything I can,” he said. “People know I play through injury. I hate missing basketball games. I’m a team-first guy. Even when I’m not 100%, I’m helping the team. Obviously, I have to watch out for myself and do due diligence on my rehab and how I feel. I just have to maintain it and I will.”
It looks like DeRozan will miss just one game with the left adductor strain he suffered Tuesday. DeRozan sat out Thursday’s loss to the Pelicans, but he’s listed as probable for tonight’s contest in Cleveland, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
Tristan Thompson received a $20K fine for “directing profane language toward a game official,” the league announced (via Twitter). Thompson was ejected after receiving two technical fouls in the closing seconds of Thursday’s game.

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