The 2024 offseason was a transformative one for the Chicago Bulls. Although the Bulls didn’t transform their roster entirely, they traded impactful veterans Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan, who played the fifth and first most minutes, respectively.
Chicago acquired Josh Giddey in exchange for Caruso—a much-maligned trade at the time. Nonetheless, the DeRozan departure wasn’t as straightforward. After missing the postseason in two consecutive seasons, it was evident the then-34-year-old DeRozan didn’t have a future with a soon-to-be rebuilding team.
Thus, DeRozan instead signed with the Sacramento Kings (although that wasn’t necessarily the better option) for three seasons and $74 million. However, to make room for DeRozan’s arrival, a sign-and-trade commenced.
Chicago’s decision to trade DeRozan hasn’t fared well
The sign-and-trade included three teams: the Bulls, Kings, and San Antonio Spurs. Chicago sent DeRozan to Sacramento in exchange for Chris Duarte, RaiQuan Gray, and a 2025 second-round pick. The Spurs were included to absorb Harrison Barnes’ $54 million contract.
Duarte played 17 games for the Bulls. Gray was waived less than a week later, and the second-round pick eventually became Lachlan Olbrich. On the other hand, DeRozan suited up for 77 contests for the Kings. He averaged 22.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. The 6-foot-7 wing was also one of Sacramento’s more impactful players as the Kings were 5.1 points per 100 possessions better with DeRozan on the floor.
Lastly, the Spurs somehow received the always-reliable Barnes almost by default. The relatively inexpensive two-way wing appeared and started in all 82 games for the Spurs. Barnes averaged 12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while converting 50.8 percent of his field goals and 43.3 percent of his three-pointers. Like DeRozan in Sacramento, the Spurs were better with Barnes on the floor, to the tune of 6.5 points per 100 possessions.
Chicago didn’t have much leverage in this scenario because it was a sign-and-trade, and DeRozan had chosen the Kings as his next team. But what the Bulls did have to leverage was DeRozan’s Bird rights, which Artūras Karnišovas and Co. made poor use of.
ESPN knocks the Bulls’ 2024 sign-and-trade with the Kings, Spurs
Instead, the Bulls went the cheap route, only acquiring Duarte’s $5.8 million salary instead of Barnes’ $18 million in the three-team swap. Upon revisiting the trade, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton criticizes the Bulls for failing to extract any value from either team whatsoever.
Pelton writes, “I gave the Bulls too much credit in the moment, given they didn’t end up with either of the two best parts of this trade: DeRozan and the pick swap. Chicago derived little value from DeRozan’s Bird rights and waived Duarte after he played only 74 minutes.”
In this exercise, Pelton revisited several of the league’s most impactful trades in 2024 by regrading each one. The ESPN journalist originally gave the Bulls a C but has since knocked the grade down to a D. For what it’s worth, the Kings went from a C+ to a C- while the Spurs remain at an A.
A year later, Chicago’s decision to let DeRozan walk is seemingly forgotten, considering the Caruso-for-Giddey swap dominated headlines and continues to do so as Caruso won a championship and Giddey remains entrenched in a contract standoff.
Still, looking back on this trade, the Bulls could have fared much better than they did. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, but why not take on Barnes in exchange for DeRozan? The 6-foot-8 forward would have fit seamlessly in the Bulls’ lineup a season ago, and would likely start next to Buzelis this upcoming season as he plays out the final year of his contract. Chicago essentially let DeRozan go for nothing in return.
