With DeMar DeRozan leaving the Chicago Bulls this offseason and a dearth of teams with cap space, he may decide to take a one-year deal at a lower contract figure than anticipated in order to become a free agent again next season when far more teams project to have cap space. If DeRozan chose to do a sign-and-trade agreement, he would be locked into a three-year deal and become unable to recoup his value.
"Well, I think there's interest in DeMar DeRozan, but the kind of contract that he might want just is not going to be available," said Adrian Wojnarowski on a Tuesday morning Sports Center appearance. "It's not left out there in the marketplace. The Bulls are more than willing to work on a sign-and-trade agreement to get him the years and money that he might want, but with the new salary cap rules, those are much more difficult for teams to do.
"The Lakers have interest. How do they acquire DeMar DeRozan. That becomes a much different scenario. LeBron James has talked about a willingness to take significantly less money to open up their mid-level exception. I think in DeMar DeRrozan's case, and it may not be as appealing to him, but it may look like a one-year deal somewhere. Let the market reset next year because if you do a sign-and-trade, it's got to be at least three years. And now you're locked into a three-year deal at a number you may not like. The Lakers are interested, but is there a mechanism that would allow them to create a slot to acquire him. That's going to be the harder part. It's tough when you give out the big money, there's not always money left for a guy like DeMar DeRozan who was an All-Star recently, but we'll see what happens with him."
At the end of the season, it was reported that the Bulls offered DeRozan a two-year, $80 million extension. DeRozan turned it down with his eye on a longer contract. DeRozan is represented by Aaron Goodwin.
