The Chicago Bulls struck gold in 2021 free agency when they acquired DeMar DeRozan. They traded for the San Antonio Spurs star and saw him put together a spectacular season, helping them get back to the postseason. Heading into the 2022 campaign, DeRozan is the team's leader and is looking to get them back to the playoffs.
The Bulls' move for DeRozan occurred later in the offseason, which caused the star to doubt his future. There were tons of rumors about where he might go that persisted for a while. He opened up about the depression he felt during that time to Draymond Green on the Golden State Warriors star's podcast.
“Big names always kinda sign in the first day or two. I went a couple days into free agency with still such a question mark,” said DeMar DeRozan. “Was I gonna go somewhere on a one-year deal? Was I gonna take the minimum? The narrative of it…put me in such a f*cked up place. I remember through that whole time it was three, four days in a row I didn't leave out the room. I didn't see the sunset…I was depressed. It put me in a depressed mindset cause I didn't know what the f*ck was gonna happen.”
DeMar DeRozan was traded from his original team, the Toronto Raptors, for Kawhi Leonard. While Toronto won the championship, San Antonio only made the postseason once with DeRozan. In Chicago, he averaged a career-best 27.9 points per game and was in the MVP conversation during the middle of the season. His partnership with Zach LaVine has elevated them both and put the team back on the map.
Now that his future in the league is certain, DeMar DeRozan is ready to get back to work with the Bulls, who he says will be better next season.