Insider provides bombshell intel on DeMar DeRozan's future with Bulls

DeMar DeRozan could be DeParting from Chicago sooner than we think.

In an appearance this week on ESPN’s “First Take,” Brian Windhorst suggested that the Chicago Bulls All-Star DeRozan could be a trade candidate as the season progresses.

“One guy to keep an eye on, for everybody, the whole league, this year is DeMar DeRozan,” said Windhorst, per RealGM. “If he doesn’t extend with the Bulls, I think he becomes a trade target as the season goes along.”

The six-time All-Star DeRozan, who recently turned 34, is entering his third season with the Bulls and is still playing at an extremely high level. He has put up an impressive 26-5-5 stat line over his Chicago tenure and is highly durable too, having appeared in 150 of 164 possible regular-season games for the Bulls.

But DeRozan is now in the final year of a three-year, $81.9 million contract that he signed with Chicago in 2021. That means he is effectively a $28.6 million expiring contract this season, which could make for an extremely valuable trade chip.

The Bulls haven’t made it past the first round in the DeRozan era and seem to be stagnating as a middle-of-the-pack team at best in the East. Chicago fans would probably hate to see DeRozan, a humble, productive, and clutch performer, go. But if not DeRozan, it may have to be another top Bulls star packing his bags instead.