While the past two seasons haven’t quite gone according to plan for the Chicago Bulls, there have still been some positives. Most notably, the Bulls snapped a four-year playoff drought, nabbing the sixth seed in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. They’ve also found a draft steal in Ayo Dosunmu. But best of all, they’ve helped DeMar DeRozan completely revive his NBA career.
When DeRozan signed on with the Bulls in the 2021 NBA offseason, he was coming off three years with the San Antonio Spurs. And while he was productive, he seemed to take a step back from his seasons with the Toronto Raptors. Now, he’s made two straight All-Star teams and added another All-NBA appearance to his resume. But the move almost didn’t happen.
During a recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, DeRozan revealed that he almost joined the LA Clippers that summer. George tried to recruit him, but in the end, DeRozan made his way to Chicago instead.
Chicago Bulls news: DeMar DeRozan was interested in joining LA Clippers
DeRozan relayed the following message regarding his potential interest in joining the Clippers.
“I’ve never even talked about this story. The first time I saw him after that, he was like, ‘Man, my bad,’” DeRozan said. “And I never even took it in any disrespectful way because, in that moment, I was like, ‘Man, hell yeah. Let’s let’s figure it out.’”
Chicago Bulls news: Why DeMar DeRozan didn’t join the LA Clippers
DeRozan didn’t sign with the Clippers because they didn’t have enough money to sign him to a respectable contract. That’s why George apologized to DeRozan when they saw each other the following season.
When George was trying to recruit DeRozan, he didn’t realize that the now-Bulls star would have had to take a pay cut to join the Clippers.
Chicago Bulls news: Paul George tried to recruit DeMar DeRozan
When discussing his attempts to recruit DeRozan, George explained that he was not aware of the salary LA would have been able to pay him.
“I remember I was trying as hard as I could [expletive] to recruit you. After it was done, I felt like a sucker,” said George. “In Chicago, I came to you, and I was like, ‘Bro, that was something [expletive].’ I didn’t know what we had to offer, it was just, ‘Yo, we got interest in bringing DeMar here. [I was like], ‘Let’s go get that.’ When I actually did the numbers of what we could have offered, obviously you deserve way more than that. I just felt like,[Expletive]I really tried to get the homie to come here on the low.’”
Chicago Bulls news: DeMar DeRozan wanted to play with Paul George in his hometown
While the money didn’t pan out, DeRozan admitted that he would have loved playing with George. And on top of that, it would have been fun for him to play in his home state, as DeRozan is from Compton, California.
“The business side of it was flawed in its own right, but just looking at it like, ‘Man [expletive], I could do this. Play with my dog. Home. Let’s try to figure it out,’” DeRozan said.
In the end, things worked out for the Bulls, as DeRozan accepted Chicago’s offer instead, and it paid off for both parties involved.
Story originally appeared on Lonzo Wire