NBA Trades: Would the Chicago Bulls agree to the deal?
With contract extension talks having broken down with DeRozan, the Bulls could look to trade their star before the deadline rather than risk him leaving in free agency. Moving DeRozan almost certainly means that the Bulls would be out of playoff contention and it may end up being the first move in a teardown.
At 34, DeRozan is still a valuable player but probably not one that another team is willing to give up good assets for. As a result, agreeing to trade for the expiring contracts of Batum and Morris while also receiving the Clippers’ 2026 first in return would probably be a competitive offer. After all, the teams that would be interested in DeRozan would most likely be playoff teams and many don’t actually have first-round picks that they can trade.
Following the Sixers’ trade with the Clippers, they have a couple more that they can move and reroute to the Bulls for DeRozan. Of course, by packaging Batum and Morris’ contract together, the Sixers would have to wait until December 31st—two months after the team made this hypothetical deal official. However, if DeRozan is available and the Sixers are still looking for a star, this deal would make sense for Chicago.