Bulls' DeMar DeRozan Addresses NBA Trade Rumors: 'My Priority Is to Be Here'

Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan says trade rumors haven't shifted his focus from his team.

"Me being in the league so long, I understand this period of time, it just comes with the occupation," DeRozan said, per the Chicago Tribune's Julia Poe. "I really don't pay no mind to it. My priority is to be here, make this organization and this team successful and get through whatever tough stuff we're going through."

DeRozan had previously said to Sportskeeda's Mark Medina that he wanted to retire with the Bulls. He told Poe that "none of that has changed."

"I don't have no other type of doubts or feelings or suggestions to be elsewhere," DeRozan said. "That don't cross my mind."

DeRozan is averaging 22.3 points and 5.3 assists per game through 24 starts in his third season with the Bulls.

The NBA veteran's contract expires at the end of this season, leaving the Bulls until the trade deadline of February 8 to decide whether to move or extend him.

DeRozan is eligible for a four-year extension worth around $179 million.

The forward's $28.6 million cap hit this season represents about 21 percent of the salary cap. Even if the team cap increases to about $142 million next season as projected, DeRozan's max salary could rise to over 30 percent of the Bull's 2024-25 cap, depending on how the contract is weighted.

That could be too high of a price for a team already paying out three major contracts.

Guard Zach LaVine is currently in the second season of the five-year, $215 million max extension he signed in 2022, and center Nikola Vucevic agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal in June.

Injured guard Lonzo Ball also has a $21 million player option for 2024-25 that he is likely to pick up after missing the 2023-24 season with a knee injury.

Thanks to new luxury tax penalties disincentivizing teams from going too far over the salary cap, the likelihood of DeRozan staying with the Bulls could come down to his willingness to accept less than that max deal, despite the fact that his play in Chicago has been good enough to earn him two All-Star bids so far.

An alternative option would be for the Bulls to keep DeRozan and risk losing him for nothing in a push for the postseason, although that would require Chicago to see a significant turnaround by the trade deadline. The 10-16 Bulls currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference and would miss the playoffs if they started today.