During an interview with NBA writer Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, DeMar DeRozan fired back at the pundits and fans who believe the Chicago Bulls should rebuild. The Bulls missed the playoffs last season after making it in 2022.
“I think a lot of people who say that or suggest that really don’t understand basketball at all, in my opinion,” DeRozan said. “You can think that’s an answer or that’s a route. But there’s no telling how long that route is going to even last. That route doesn’t necessarily always work in a timely fashion that you may think it will take.
“With that, it’s hard to find and create talented players like the players that we already have assembled. We made a lot of mistakes. It’s not only on the players, but the coaching staff as well to be able to correct the mistakes that we have because we weren’t far off at all with the mistakes that we’ve had.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls Updates
In 74 games last season for the Bulls, DeRozan averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 50.4% from the field and 87.2% from the free-throw line. The Compton native was 13th in the NBA in total points and 17th in points per game, once again proving that he doesn’t need to shoot or make 3-pointers to score.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, DeRozan’s stellar individual season didn’t result in many wins. Chicago won only 40 games and missed the 2023 playoffs. The Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors in the 9-10 play-in game but lost to the Miami Heat in the 8-9 play-in game.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls Updates
The Bulls are 80-70 with DeRozan in the lineup. They acquired the USC product in the summer of 2021 in a sign-and-trade deal with the San Antonio Spurs. DeRozan has career NBA averages of 21.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists with the Raptors, Spurs and Bulls.
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