DeMar DeRozan has been transformational for the Chicago Bulls this season, but he recently admitted he nearly landed with a different team over the summer.
DeMar DeRozan says joining the Clippers was a serious possibility:
"It could've been a day earlier, it would've worked. It really was a real possibility. I talked with Paul George about it, we was really trying to figure it out to make it happen. No bullshit.”
(via @sergeibaka) pic.twitter.com/qHVB4KyCix
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 9, 2022
The Bulls are certainly happy that DeRozan landed with them instead of the Los Angeles Clippers. He has been a huge part of the team’s success this season.
In fact, at certain times throughout the 2021-22 campaign, there has even been some MVP buzz surrounding DeRozan.
In 62 games this season, DeRozan has averaged 28.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He’s shot a blistering 50.9 percent from the field and has massively improved as a 3-point shooter as well, completing on 35.4 percent of his attempts.
For the Bulls, all of DeRozan’s production hasn’t been quite enough in the team’s most recent stretch of games. Chicago has lost five of its last six games and just snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday with a win over the Detroit Pistons.
Despite the recent losing streak, the Bulls are still sitting comfortably in the Eastern Conference. They hold the No. 4 seed right now. The Bulls have looked like one of the league’s best teams at times this season, and DeRozan is a major reason why.
As for the Clippers, they’ve been able to overcome major injuries this season and currently sit in the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. While the Clippers are surely happy to be in the postseason chase this season, fans will likely be somewhat sad to hear just how close the team got to adding one of this season’s most dominant players.
