NBA Rumors: Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan headed toward a divorce?

NBA Rumors: It’s beginning to look like the Chicago Bulls and DeMar DeRozan may be heading toward a divorce. 

After a 20-point loss on opening night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Chicago Bulls became the first team in the NBA to have a players-only meeting. Clearly frustrated after a poor performance against the Thunder, the Bulls believed that there were some things in the locker room that needed to be cleared up.

However, the admission of a players-only meeting only tells us just how fragile the situation is in Chicago. And one of the biggest questions, aside from whether the Bulls will have enough talent to successfully compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, revolves around the future of DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan is in the final year of his contract and according to a recent report, the two sides remain far apart on extension talks. So much so that it appears that a divorce between the two could be on the horizon.

If the situation continues to trend downward, there’s a very good chance that DeRozan will become a trade deadline candidate by the turn of the calendar.

Why DeMar DeRozan could emerge as an NBA Trade Deadline candidate

While there’s some hope that the Bulls can bounce back after an embarrassing opening-night loss, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to consistently keep pace with the rest of the East contenders.

Something appears to still be missing for the Bulls and over the past two seasons, it’s become pretty clear that DeRozan and Zach LaVine can’t continue to carry this franchise alone. And that fact will lead to the Bulls having to make some big decisions about their future. The first of which will pertain to DeRozan.

From an outside perspective, it doesn’t make the most sense for the Bulls to re-sign DeRozan if there’s no other move beyond that. If the last few years haven’t been enough indication that DeRozan probably doesn’t fit the Bulls’ timeline, I’m not sure what will be.

A couple of seasons ago, when the Bulls originally acquired DeRozan during the offseason, it was in hopes that they could skip a few developmental steps and field a win-now team. As soon as Lonzo Ball went down with a knee injury, the idea of that went out the window.

Now, the Bulls are back at the drawing board. And as much as they want to believe so, it’s probably in their best interest to move on from DeRozan. The question is, will have happen in-season or during the summer?