Bulls discuss future of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, continuity originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide insurance agent Jeff Vukovich
MIAMI — As coach Billy Donovan reflected on the end of the Chicago Bulls season late Friday night and asked big questions, DeMar DeRozan entered the small room for postgame news conferences.
“It would be nice if he came back,” Donovan said lightly.
All season long, DeRozan has been emphatic about how much he wants to avoid unrestricted free agency and re-sign with the franchise he has called home for the past three seasons. But in the rawness of not making the playoffs for the second straight season, DeRozan also emphasized how much he wants to win.
“I’m pretty sure my emotions will be all over the place in the coming days and weeks. Sometimes you have to let those emotions come down so you can think logically. I can think of all kinds of negative ways right now that I might not feel next week. I always try not to react impulsively, no matter how I feel. It’s going to be a long summer for me,” DeRozan said. “It’s like crawling up that hill and then getting knocked back down. You look up that mountain and you say, ‘Damn, I have to do it all over again. I have to find out.’ It’s going to be a long summer.”
He was told that his words sounded like he is open to possibly changing his position, and DeRozan was asked if he still wants to re-sign with the Bulls.
“That’s still where I am,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I hate losing. I hate missing opportunities. It really hits you when you look up after the season and see the last seconds drifting away. You have no other game. The next time I play a game it will be 16e season. You realize that the window is closing for you personally. I’m not trying to play for 25 years. You just want the opportunity to give everything that is good in you. My position on wanting to be here is still the same. But I just want to win. When you see the first round of the play-offs, the second round of the play-offs is frustrating.”
When asked what he would like to see management do this offseason, DeRozan didn’t hesitate.
“A competitive team. A team that gives us the opportunity to score,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot since I’ve been here. My freshman year it was a team we wanted to be on. But to lose a star point guard in Zo (Lonzo Ball) and Zach (LaVIne) getting injured later that year, we had all the pieces in play. I don’t know if a black cat ran in front of us or if we broke a mirror. But it gives us a chance to be competitive and not just a team fighting for a play-in game.”
Like Donovan, Coby White wants to see DeRozan return.
“It would mean the world to this organization, to the fans, to this city,” White said. “As much as he’s done for this organization and for this city and my personal growth, that’s my opinion. He should be paid what he wants. It would be important for us to have him back. Personally, I really want him back. Hopefully they can get everything done.”
But management’s continuity plan hasn’t produced postseason results. So can the Bulls really settle for bringing back the same core?
“I don’t want to speak for (Executive Vice President) Arturas Karnisovas,” Donovan said. ‘I’ll give you my opinion. This is exactly how I feel. In my conversations with Arturas, the feeling was: can we generate and create some continuity with the group? That was the overriding thing. That continuity never came about. We actually knocked out two starters. I’ve said this from day one: I think there was enough in that locker room to compete.
“It is a results-oriented company. We didn’t get the results that we ultimately wanted to get as competitive as we were. But I will say this: I really appreciated and respected what they did for each other and for the organization this year.”
Zach LaVine found himself in trade rumors again this season and will likely do so again this season. When he returns from season-ending foot surgery, Donovan said he envisions a future where LaVine fits into winning basketball.
“I wish he would be what I would want anyone else to be on our team: sacrifice, play hard and compete. I wouldn’t want him to change his game,” Donovan said. “When all this stuff about the trade came out, I never got involved again. That was between Zach and the front office and his agency.
“In my conversations with Zach, it was always about getting rid of the injury, having a minute restriction and saying, ‘Hey, listen, I think it’s best that you don’t start for a few games right now, so we’ll have you before the end.’ we need you from games.’ Then obviously the frustrating part of the season comes to an end and he has surgery and it’s done. It’s always about the way he contributes and helps the team.
“I appreciate the investment Zach has made in his relationship with me. And I certainly tried to make an investment as well. So whatever those conversations were in terms of what we needed from him, we were always able to talk openly, directly and honestly. We communicated even while he was away due to the injury.”
White said LaVine stayed engaged with his teammates during this season’s stretch run. LaVine even texted White on Wednesday after his 42-point game against the Atlanta Hawks.
‘He kept in touch with us even though he was injured. Even when all that (trading) stuff came out, he had no control over what the media was exposed to. He’s been there,” White said. “After the game in Atlanta he texted me. He texted the group after every win and gave us motivation.
“We’re not really focused on that (speculation about LaVine’s future). I know what kind of guy he is. I know what type of player he is and how much he cares about winning and how much he cares about the team. Everyone in this locker room knows who he is as a person. He’s been there since he had surgery, which gives us motivation. I can’t thank him enough for that.”
Yet the Bulls continue to fall short. This expensive trio of DeRozan, LaVine and Nikola Vucevic has one playoff win and two non-playoff seasons.
“A little bit of luck,” White said, when asked what the Bulls need. “It is clear that injuries are part of that. We have to think of something. We can’t keep relying on the play-in to reach the play-offs.
“It hurts. The guys in this locker room came in every day and worked their butts off. I care deeply about everyone in this locker room. We didn’t want it to end this way.”
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