1. DeMar DeRozan
There’s no way this can happen, right? Well, DeRozan is still a well above-average scorer at the NBA level, and he is going to be a free agent after this season. The Bulls might be willing to blow everything up if they don’t end up making some positive in-roads, which could mean the end of DeRozan in Chicago.
While DeRozan is nowhere near the defender that Anunoby is, and the shooting will take another step backward, it will be hard for the Raptors to turn down a player (assuming there is some level of mutual interest) who has averaged 26.2 points per game during his two seasons with the Bulls.
Could the Toronto Raptors land DeMar DeRozan?
This is not purely a nostalgia signing, as DeRozan can still be a quality secondary scorer on a playoff team in this league. His age might knock his price down a bit, which could help them replace Anunoby’s points and shot attempts while accommodating deals for any combination of Barnes, Trent, and Siakam.
Giving the mid-range king in DeRozan will only add to the team’s spacing issues, and he might not be in Anunoby’s stratosphere as a defender, but scoring-challenged teams need to add scorers anyway they can. DeRozan’s Bulls tenure seems to suggest that he is aging quite gracefully.
Plus, it gets Diar DeRozan back on Toronto’s side!