DeMar DeRozan recently opened up about playing with Lonzo Ball on the Chicago Bulls. DeRozan played with the Bulls for three seasons from 2021 to 2024 and came to Chicago at the same time as Lonzo Ball in 2021. The issue is that Ball was dealing with injuries during most of his time in Chicago while DeRozan was his teammate.

To this point, Ball has missed most of his time playing with the Bulls. He played for the first time in October 2024 since 2022. Ball and DeRozan barely played basketball together, but when they did, things came together easily, helping the offense flow much better than it did without him.

On a recent Run Your Race Podcast episode with Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson, DeRozan spoke about what it was like playing with Ball and how easy everything was. He said, “When you talk about a piece missing for something… Lonzo was that big piece of the puzzle that put everything together for all of us. He made everything so easy.”

Ball's size is what makes him stand out as a point guard. At 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, there are not many point guards like him, and that's why he presents such a matchup issue when he is healthy and able to play. The one season he was able to play with DeRozan on the Bulls, Ball had a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, and he averaged 5.1 assists per game during that season.

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The combination of DeRozan and Ball never got a lot of time together with the Bulls due to his injuries, and before Ball was able to come back from injury, DeRozan was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade that also involved the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal.

Hearing DeRozan praise playing with Ball and how much he enjoyed it shows that it was a case of what could have been. Ball could have developed into an All-Star-level talent if it weren't for some of the injuries he has suffered in his career.

Both players still play well with DeRozan in Sacramento and Ball back in Chicago, but those years with the Bulls will be filled with missed opportunities.