Bulls Must Trade DeMar DeRozan Ahead of Deadline, Look to Future Amid NBA Rumors

The Chicago Bulls currently sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, five games out of playoff contention, spurring rumors and innuendo of trade deadline moves featuring some of their more attractive assets, including star small forward DeMar DeRozan.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst of The Hoop Collective podcast reported at the 28:20 mark, however, that "There is not an expectation that DeRozan is gonna get traded."

The report comes on the heels of Zach LaVine, himself the subject of trade discussions earlier in the season, announcing season-ending surgery on his injured foot.

On one hand, it makes sense that the Bulls would want to hold onto DeRozan and salvage whatever it can of this season.

An overtime win Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves gave fans hope that the team has the talent to make a run and, perhaps, sneak into the postseason but not making a move at the deadline will only delay the inevitable.

The Bulls are in need of a complete rebuild and it starts by trading DeRozan.

The 34-year-old is averaging 22.3 points a game and is shooting 46.4 percent from the paint and 32.8 percent from beyond the arch.

Add 4.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and it is not difficult to see why playoff contenders would be interested in acquiring a player who can come in, contribute offensively, and help them improve their chances of competing for an NBA title.

DeRozan is also playing on an expiring contract, meaning the Bulls can either trade him and get something in return or watch him walk away in free agency after contract talks have gone nowhere.

The Bulls are not good enough to watch one of the few assets they have walk away without getting anything of value in return for him.

DeRozan is a player that a team like the Los Angeles Lakers or Miami Heat could acquire, sending picks or young assets in return for, and go on legitimate playoff runs. Those teams, and likely others, would love to have a crack at bringing a former All-Star into the fold and instantly improving their organizations on the court.

Chicago, in the state it is in, should be champing at the bit to listen to every general manager or team president who calls with a potential offer for the forward, not insinuating to league insiders that one of the few players on the roster that teams would be interested in is not available.

Especially when they could very realistically let him get away with no compensation this offseason.

The Bulls have tried rebuilding the roster into a consistent contender twice since Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman led the team to their final championship in 1998, to miserable results. Add to that head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas' decision to sign LaVine to a virtually untradable max contract and you have plenty of reason not to believe in the organization's ability to turn this thing around.

Coby White has been superb this season, though, at least temporarily silencing questions about his ability to develop into the player most had hoped he would be.

He has averaged 19.4 a game, 46.5 percent from the paint, 39.9 from downtown, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. As long as he continues that level of play, he is the cornerstone of the franchise moving forward.

Trading DeRozan, getting a haul of players and/or picks in return, and using them to re-establish the foundation of the team, is the right move for the Bulls.

Finding a way to offload the LaVine contract would help, but that is unlikely for the time being, so bringing in as much talent as possible, either in return for DeRozan or through the draft, is the next best option.

Otherwise, DeRozan walks and the team could watch him win a championship with another organization, knowing full well they acted detrimentally to the team and received nothing for him when they could have, further enhancing the difficulty of another rebuild attempt.