CHICAGO (670 The Score) – The Bulls have opened contract extension negotiations with star forward DeMar DeRozan, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said Monday.
DeRozan, 34, is working in the final season of a three-year, $82-million deal that he inked in summer 2021, when he joined the Bulls in a sign-and-trade transaction with the Spurs. DeRozan is eligible now to sign a four-year deal worth up to around $179 million. The sides could also reach a deal that’s shorter in length and money.
“We love DeMar,” Karnisovas said as the Bulls held media day Monday before they get practice started Tuesday. “The last two years, he has been unbelievable for us – two-time All-Star, second-team all-NBA. He loves Chicago. Chicago loves him back.
“The talks are ongoing, so I’m not going to comment (further) on that.”
DeRozan averaged 24.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 36.2 minutes across 74 games last season. He has been an All-Star selection in each of the past two seasons after the Bulls acquired him.
Neither Karnisovas nor DeRozan gave an indication of how far extension talks have advanced to this point. For his part, DeRozan maintains that he isn’t focused on his contractual future.
“I really don’t wake up or go to sleep with that on my mind,” DeRozan said. “I just appreciate the opportunity to be able to still play more than anything, just like I was a kid.
“I have an agent. He deals with it, and I tell him to leave me the hell alone so I can focus on my five kids and my regular day life. I’m not kidding. I really try not to like focus on that or deal with them. I let them handle whatever needs to be handled from that standpoint. If I get a call about something, then I go from there.”
DeRozan would like to remain with the Bulls on a new contract, he said.
“Your goal at the end of the day is wanting to win,” DeRozan said. “Whatever within that, you got to find a perfect balance that works. I know the way I look at it, I look at it from both sides, it’s just got to be a perfect balance from both ends. It’s just got to make sense, you know what I mean? That’s how I take the approach about it. For me, it’s all about understanding what we can do to win, how we can win. Obviously, this is a place I want to be. It’s a great place. So you can take that out of the equation. It’s just working out whatever makes sense from there for both sides. I’ll let them handle it. I just control what I can control.”
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.