DeMar DeRozan Talks Bulls Success; Lonzo Ball Calls Him 1 of Best Players in NBA

Amid some offseason criticism about the value of his contract with the Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan is getting the last laugh as an integral part of the team's 10-4 start. 

Speaking to reporters after Monday's 121-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, DeRozan said those critics have helped fuel his performance thus far. 

"I can go down the list of just being counted out, being looked over," he explained. "So many chips that's on my shoulder that I carry. And just wanting to be a winner and wanting to enjoy this ride. We can't play this game forever, so I want to get as much as I can out of it."

Lonzo Ball, who was also acquired as part of Chicago's offseason spending spree, called DeRozan "one of the best players in this game," adding, "I think he's going out there and proving it every night."

Ranking the worst signings of the offseason, B/R's Zach Buckley had DeRozan's three-year, $85 million contract with the Bulls at No. 1. 

Much of Buckley's argument was based around a report from B/R's Jake Fischer that at one point early in the summer, DeRozan might have been willing to play with a title contender for the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.9 million. 

There was also a question of how DeRozan would fit with a Bulls team that loaded up on ballhandlers, including Ball, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. 

Based on the early returns, DeRozan and the Bulls are getting to laugh at all of their skeptics. The Bulls rank fourth in the NBA in net rating (+5.9) and, surprisingly, are sixth in defensive rating (104.1), per Basketball-Reference.com. 

Chicago's offense has been fine (10th in rating; 13th in points per game), but head coach Billy Donovan has done a fantastic job of making adjustments on the defensive end. 

After the Bulls got blown out 119-93 by the Golden State Warriors on Friday, Alex Caruso has replaced Javonte Green in the starting lineup for their next two games. They have defeated the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers by a combined 28 points. 

DeRozan is off to a red-hot start. He is averaging a career-high 26.9 points per game. The 32-year-old still doesn't take a high volume of three-pointers, but he's shooting a career-best 37.1 percent from behind the arc on 2.5 attempts per contest. 

If the Bulls get this version of DeRozan all season, and their defense keeps playing at a high level, they have the ability to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.