(670 The Score) For the past two seasons, a focal point of the Bulls’ offense has been All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan operating in isolation situations and in the mid-range.
While previewing the Bulls’ upcoming season in an appearance on the Bernstein & Holmes Show on Wednesday, general manager Marc Eversley acknowledged that “perhaps” needs to change a bit.
“Ultimately, it’s about winning,” Eversley said. “I think whether DeMar has to adjust his game a tiny bit or a lot, I mean, at the end of the day, we all want to win. I think if we win, he’ll be happy. His teammates will be happy. Fans will be happy. We’ll be happy. Might he have to adjust his game a little bit and shoot more threes? Perhaps. He’s got one of the best mid-range games in the whole league. It’s a relationship with Billy (Donovan) and he that they will figure out. That will happen through conversations. That will happen through (training camp in Nashville) and as we go through the preseason and early on in the season. He’s a smart guy. He’s a really, really smart guy. He’s got a high basketball IQ. He’s got great feel.
“We have the utmost confidence that he will figure it out, we will figure it out. The goal is to win more games. And if you win more games, I think everybody eats.”
DeRozan, 34, averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 50.4% overall and 32.4% on 3-point shooting in 74 games last season. He attempted 1.9 3-pointers per game. The Bulls attempted an NBA-low 28.9 3-pointers per game last season.
“It’s shooting profile,” executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said. “We got to shoot more 3s. We’ve got to take more 3s. Going into every game last year, you go minus-8.5 points per game, that’s hard to make up every game. Then you got to play faster. We have to move the ball.”