Bulls lose DeMar DeRozan to protect pick traded for him

DeMar DeRozan reportedly left the Bulls for the Sacramento Kings as Chicago prepares to tank next season — in order to keep a pick it traded for DeRozan.

The Bulls said goodbye to DeRozan, their best player in the three seasons since he signed in Chicago. They didn’t want to pay the luxury tax for a team that’s no longer a playoff group, especially after trading Alex Caruso.

But part of their incentive comes from a 2025 first-round pick the Bulls owe to the San Antonio Spurs, which is protected for picks 1-10. That pick came from a sign-and-trade that brought DeRozan to Chicago in the first place. The Bulls are highly incentivized to be one of the worst 10 teams next year, so they keep their pick during what’s looking like a rebuild.

So in order to keep a pick they traded for DeRozan, the Bulls have to let DeRozan go. Not only do they need to save money, but they have to make sure DeRozan, one of the NBA’s best clutch players, doesn’t make them win too many games.

The winner? The Spurs, who helped facilitate the DeRozan move to Sacramento by taking Harrison Barnes into their cap space in exchange for the right to swap first-round picks with the Kings in 2031. San Antonio got one first-rounder to help DeRozan get to Chicago and another swap to help him leave.

It’s another get for the huge trove of pick swaps San Antonio has acquired in the last two years.

The Spurs also own Atlanta’s first-round pick next season. In addition, if they don’t receive the Bulls’ pick in 2025, they get the pick if it’s worse than No. 8 overall in 2026 or 2027.

Essentially, they’ve acquired a stack of lottery tickets, hoping one or more of those teams gets bad enough they can get a great player to pair with Victor Wembanyama.

As for the Bulls, they’ve essentially sold a house that’s underwater on its payments for pennies on the dollar. The loan for DeRozan will eventually come due, but until then, the Bulls will be putting off the balloon payment on mortgaging their future.