Demar DeRozan leaves Bulls in sign-and-trade with Kings |
One of the most significant offseason question marks facing the Chicago Bulls was whether or not Demar DeRozan would be returning to the team. After more and more teams pulled out of the DeRozan sweepstakes, you had to wonder if the Bulls were going to be able to maintain him on a cheaper deal as his market seemed to be drying up.
Then came the reports that DeRozan wasn't happy with the front office or the direction that the team was going, and some felt that there was a great possibility that he played his final game as a Chicago Bull. Well, that became a reality on Saturday night as DeRozan has indeed played his final game as a Chicago Bull and is now a Sacramento King as part of a three-team trade with the San Antonio Spurs. DeRozan gets the multi-year deal he was looking for as the Kings will give him a three-year 76 million dollar contract as he will now head closer to his hometown of Compton to potentially end his career. The Kings were never a team linked to DeRozan until recently, and that only happened when a lot of the other teams pulled out of his sweepstakes. They will now add a proven veteran to an improving lineup with the likes of Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox. As part of the sign-and-trade, the Kings were forced to move someone of their own. They will be sending Harrison Barnes to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the deal. Barnes was a name linked to the Bulls for months, as many thought Zach Lavine could be dealt to the Kings, with Barnes being part of the package that would come to Chicago. The Spurs were the third team involved in the trade. The Bulls received someone from their roster, as they will be getting young G Chris Duarte as part of the deal. Chicago will also receive a pair of second-round picks as part of the deal, which is something this team needs when you look at the lack of picks in their upcoming drafts. Duarte may not be a familiar name for most Bulls fans, but the 27-year-old has had some solid seasons with the Pacers and Kings, offering a very reliable piece off their bench. The 6-6 SG didn't have a great season last year when he averaged just 3.9 PPG, but he has averaged just under 9 PPG for his career and has been a great leader off the bench. Duarte hasn't been around long, as he will be entering his fourth season, but he is coming off his worst season when he was coming off the bench in Sacramento. His best season happened to be his first season in the league when he averaged better than 13 PPG while playing for the Pacers. No one expects him to come in and average double figures, but if he can add eight to 10 points off the bench for Chicago, the Bulls will be happy with that production, especially since Javon Carter had the struggles he had last season. Duarte is still an unproven player who is still trying to carve out his role in the NBA. As an offensive threat, Duarte could improve his shooting a little bit. He shoots 46% from the field and just under 35% from distance. With the Bulls being one of the worst three-point shooting teams the past three seasons, any sort of improvement from distance will be a massive help for this team, and Duarte will, at the very least, offer that. When you look at the Bulls offseason so far, they haven't done much to improve their roster apart from signing Jalen Smith and adding Josh Giddey. However, they made it a point that they wanted to get younger, and Duarte is undoubtedly a younger option than DeRozan. At this point, it seems likely that the Bulls will go through a rebuilding year where wins will be tough to come by, but if that happens, it is better that it happens now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4QRyaPp-KE
