Shocking Report: Chicago Bulls Terminate 3 Veteran Star Players Contract With Them

Chicago Bulls free agency news was released on Monday by Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, who stated that the team “has not opened up dialogue with DeMar DeRozan because they want to get rid of the contracts of Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball.”

With a concluding statement on DeRozan’s future with the Bulls, Haynes’ article declared that “the DeMar DeRozan era in Chicago is officially over.” It’s important to consider the reasoning that lies between Haynes’ claims that the Bulls haven’t spoken to DeRozan since the beginning of the 2024 free agency season and that the Bulls’ DeRozan era is gone.

“They [Chicago Bulls] are willing to talk to DeMar if they get rid of those contracts” , Haynes said. The DeRozan era at the United Center is probably over, but if the Bulls’ front office is able to successfully dump the contracts of LaVine and Ball AND DeRozan is still available as an unrestricted free agent, is there any chance that the Bulls will wait to extend DeRozan’s contract?

During the 2023–24 NBA regular season, the Bulls supposedly made an offer for a two-year contract extension for $80 million. Pressure from the 2024 free agent market has affected prominent NBA stars who have signed new agreements, such Tobias Harris and Klay Thompson. In his five-year maximum deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, Tobias Harris made an average salary of $36 million year. He then signed a two-year, $52 million contract with the Detroit Pistons.

After finishing a five-year maximum contract with the Golden State Warriors with an average yearly salary of $37.9 million, Klay Thompson agreed to a three-year $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

With teams becoming more cost-conscious in their free-agent signings, it looks that the price tag that elite players who were second or third option holders under the previous NBA player collective bargaining agreement had is no longer in place. It’s probable that DeMar DeRozan won’t be able to get the money he wants out of his next NBA deal. Will DeRozan’s desire for a pay increase in his next NBA contract change in light of the current free agency market?

All of this suggests that when the 2024–25 NBA season begins, DeMar DeRozan may suit up for a different NBA team. However, if Arturas Karnisovas manages to remove Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball’s salaries from the Bulls’ cap sheet, the possibility of a DeRozan/Bulls reunion resurfaces.