NBA Central

Chicago Bulls All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan said that a lowball contract offer prior to the 2021-22 season motivated him to perform at a high level during his first season in Chicago.

Appearing on Thursday's The Old Man and The Three podcast with former NBA guard JJ Redick (beginning at the 25-minute mark), DeRozan said it "pissed me off" when a team offered him the veteran's minimum last offseason:

DeRozan noted that he has a "personal vendetta" against a "handful" of NBA teams because of the offer and suggested that drove him to play his best when he faced those teams.

While DeRozan didn't mention which team or teams offered him the vet minimum, his best outing of the season was a 50-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, plus he had 40-point games against the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs.

The 33-year-old veteran added that he went by the mantra, "Revenge is best served cold," from the movie The Godfather and made that his mentality throughout the 2021-22 season.

That worked out well for DeRozan, as he averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game and was named an All-Star for the first time since the 2017-18 season when he was in his final year with the Toronto Raptors.

While DeRozan was never named an All-Star during his three-year stint with San Antonio after getting traded out of Toronto, he remained a productive player.

In 206 games for the Spurs, DeRozan averaged 21.6 points, 6.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 steal, while shooting 50.1 percent from the field, all of which bested his career numbers with the Raptors.

Given those stats, it is somewhat surprising that a team would try to sign DeRozan for the veteran's minimum. That offer was clearly nowhere close to getting it done, as he inked a three-year, $85 million contract with the Bulls as part of a sign-and-trade deal.

Last season was undoubtedly one of the best of DeRozan's 13-year NBA career, as he also averaged 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 76 games while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and a career-best 35.2 percent from three.

The 6'6", 220-pound wing played a huge role in helping the Bulls go 46-36 and reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Chicago dealt with some key injuries and was eliminated in the first round by the Bucks, but it is poised to be a contender in the Eastern Conference again this season.

If DeRozan can keep a chip on his shoulder and get big-time supporting contributions from Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Co., the Bulls have a chance to be among the best teams in the East.

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan is no stranger to discussing his mental health and some of the challenges he faces as a professional basketball player.

During a discussion with JJ Redick for The Old Man & The Three podcast, he said he may not experience true happiness until he walks away from the NBA.

"There is so much internal pressure to want to be great every single day.... You carry that so much to where you can't really fully be happy until you walk away from it."

Episode 127 with @DeMar_DeRozan, @jj_redick, and @talter drops tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/fJlzVjcSIm

— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) September 28, 2022

"I don't think I could truly be happy until I retire," he said. "And I say that because of what you just said. Because there's so much internal pressure to want to be great every single day. Every single day of like, 'I got to go back to the gym. I didn't do enough. I didn't this. I didn't this. Should I take the day off? No, no, no. I'mma just push through it.

"You carry that so much to where you can't really fully be happy until you walk away from it."

This is far from the first time DeRozan has discussed mental health.

In 2018, he tweeted, "This depression get the best of me," a lyric from the Kevin Gates song "Tomorrow," and prompted a wide-ranging interview with Doug Smith of the Toronto Star in which he delved further into his mindset.

"It's one of them things that no matter how indestructible we look like we are, we're all human at the end of the day," he said. "We all got feelings … all of that. Sometimes … it gets the best of you, where times everything in the whole world's on top of you."

He told Smith that he strives to treat everyone with the same level of respect regardless of their position in life or occupation because "we're all human at the end of the day."

DeRozan also discussed his mental health earlier this year on the Draymond Green Show with the Golden State Warriors star (h/t Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago) and talked about spending days in bed during free agency and dealing with depression after his father died in 2021.

The NBA has taken strides with regard to mental health in recent years with players such as DeRozan, Kevin Love and others discussing some of their struggles.

The NBA Mind Health program says its "mission is to engage, educate, and serve the NBA community and to position mental health as an essential element of wellness & excellence—both on and off the court."

DeRozan's latest comments come as he prepares to start his second season with the Bulls.

Playing in a major market like Chicago for an organization that has a history of success that includes six championships and one of the most iconic eras in sports when Michael Jordan was leading the way comes with its own set of pressures, especially for the team's go-to player on the floor.

He thrived last season in that situation from a basketball standpoint, making the fifth All-Star Game of his career while averaging a career-best 27.9 points per game.

The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly among the teams expected to pursue a trade for Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder.

"The Bucks will look though I bet," ESPN's Zach Lowe said on The Lowe Post podcast. "The Bucks were sneakily kind of sniffing around Jerami Grant in Detroit before Portland swooped in. I think they like the idea of the switchable, switchable, switchable guys."

Crowder and the Suns mutually agreed the veteran forward would not participate in training camp while the team seeks trade options. The 32-year-old has been with the Suns the last two seasons and is heading into the final year of his contract.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix reported Crowder's trade request stemmed from a desire for a contract extension, which the Suns did not plan to offer. Phoenix also reportedly told Crowder he would not be part of the starting five or closing unit.

Crowder had started 109 of his 127 games in Phoenix. Cameron Johnson seems like a strong bet to step into the starting lineup in Crowder's place as the Suns look to increase their spacing. Dario Saric will also get extended time at the 4 after missing the entire 2021-22 season.

The Bucks don't offer much hope for Crowder as a starter, given the best player in basketball (Giannis Antetokounmpo) plays his position. It's possible that Milwaukee would open the season playing big with Crowder at the 3, but that will only be a temporary solution until Khris Middleton returns from his wrist injury.

As it stands, Crowder seems to be heading toward a different stage in his career and doesn't appear accepting of his new standing. If Crowder wants to play for a contender, the options for him getting a starter-size workload are few and far between.

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball revealed the extent of his knee issues in Tuesday's Zoom press conference.

"I still can't play basketball," Ball said. "I can't run or jump."

The injury is also affecting his normal activities outside of basketball.

"It's every day," he added. "Even going up stairs and stuff, it's still painful."

The Bulls announced in September that Ball would undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee and be reevaluated in four to six weeks, which all but ruled out his chances of playing in the Oct. 19 season opener against the Miami Heat.

Health concerns have become a reality for Ball since he joined the Bulls ahead of the 2021-22 season. He played just 35 games in his first campaign with the team thanks to a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

The 24-year-old was expected to return ahead of the playoffs, but Chicago announced it shut him down in April because he "continues to experience pain with high-level physical activity."

The continued health issues for the UCLA product have been particularly disappointing for the Bulls. They looked like a true contender last season when he was on the floor, but they fell to the No. 6 seed and lost in the first round when he was out.

Chicago can still turn toward Coby White, Alex Caruso, Goran Dragić and Ayo Dosunmu in the backcourt when Ball is out, but it is far better suited to compete in the Eastern Conference when he is on the floor hitting from deep and facilitating for others.

Kemba Walker will likely never see the court as a member of the Detroit Pistons.

The veteran point guard "will likely be away from the team" as training camp opens this week, per The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania. It's possible he will be traded or released.

The New York Knicks traded Walker to the Pistons on draft night as part of a three-team trade that also included the Charlotte Hornets, which sent the draft rights to Jalen Duren to Detroit.

The move helped the Knicks clear up cap space to sign former Dallas Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson, who agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with the franchise in July. Walker is set to earn $9.2 million in 2022-23.

Walker joined the Knicks on a two-year deal before the 2021-22 campaign after reaching a buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which acquired him in a trade that sent Al Horford to the Boston Celtics.

The 32-year-old appeared in 37 games during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists, before he and the Knicks agreed in February to have him be sidelined for the remainder of the season in pursuit of coming back fully healthy in 2022-23.

Walker has struggled with knee issues since his days with the Charlotte Hornets, though his knee ailment didn't begin to impact his production until his two-year stint with the Celtics from 2019-21.

In Detroit, Walker is buried on the depth chart behind Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Alec Burks and Jaden Ivey. That said, it's no surprise the oft-injured point guard is not participating in training camp.

It's unclear if any teams will express interest in acquiring Walker this fall. His injury history and salary don't make him an ideal target. That said, it seems like a buyout may be more reasonable.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is highly motivated to win another title, and he revealed Sunday that he got jealous watching the Golden State Warriors' 2022 NBA championship parade.

When asked about his motivation to win another title, Antetokounmpo responded:

"I kinda got jealous of Golden State and seeing them in the parade," Antetokounmpo said. "... Like, you know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you."

Giannis speaks on his motivation to win another championship.#NBAMediaDay pic.twitter.com/Z1ukBODIRa

— NBA (@NBA) September 25, 2022

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won the 2021 NBA title with a finals victory over the Phoenix Suns in six games. It was the team's second-ever championship and first since 1971.

In 2022, the Bucks were eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Milwaukee is expected to be one of the top teams in the East again in 2022-23, but it won't be easy for Antetokounmpo to lead the team back to the NBA Finals, especially considering there should be some tough competition in the conference.

The Utah Jazz reportedly continued their offseason fire sale Thursday by trading forward Bojan Bogdanović to the Detroit Pistons.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Jazz will receive center Kelly Olynyk and guard Saben Lee in return.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported in June that Bogdanović was one of the players on Utah's roster who was expected to draw "significant interest" on the trade market this summer.

The 33-year-old was a key rotation player for the Jazz since he signed a four-year deal with the team in 2019. In 69 games in 2021-22, he was Utah's second-leading scorer with 18.1 points per game, which trailed only Donovan Mitchell.

Bogdanović added 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point range.

After beginning his professional career in Europe, the Croatian joined the NBA in 2014 and signed a three-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets. He was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2017 and signed with the Indiana Pacers later that year. He spent two seasons in Indiana before joining Utah.

The Jazz are a team in transition following the surprising resignation of head coach Quin Snyder on June 5. He guided the team to a 49-33 record last season, but Utah was ousted in the first round of the postseason by the Dallas Mavericks in six games. He was replaced by former Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy.

Bogdanović wasn't the only player on the move this offseason. Utah traded three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Jazz also parted ways with center Rudy Gobert, sending the three-time Defensive Player of the Year to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both deals were in exchange for a haul of players and draft picks, setting up Utah to build for the future.

By acquiring Bogdanović, Detroit is getting a sharpshooter who can stretch the floor on offense. While the seven-year NBA veteran isn't a game-changer by any means, he will be able to provide consistent scoring alongside the likes of Cade Cunningham for a Pistons team that is perhaps trying to accelerate its rebuild.

As for the Jazz, trading Bogdanović brings them even deeper into a rebuild, plus it gives them another potential trade piece in Olynyk, who could be coveted by contenders during the season as a rotational big.

Even if the Jazz are unable to trade the veteran, his salary is only partially guaranteed for the 2023-24 season, meaning they could move on without much issue.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is the focus of a new short film produced by WhatsApp.

Naija Odyssey, which was released Wednesday, focuses on the two-time NBA MVP's formative years as a native of Greece born to Nigerian parents. The film intends to "[tell] his origin story of many origins as he reconciles his roots, birthplace and sense of belonging between cross-cultural worlds."

Although Antetokounmpo's story is well known to basketball fans, Naija Odyssey opens the door for others to discover the path he took before achieving superstardom in the NBA.

The 27-year-old has helped to symbolize the NBA's growth abroad, an effort that was spurred by former Commissioner David Stern. Four of the top five vote-getters in last year's MVP balloting were born outside of the United States.

It seemed odd when veteran guard Goran Dragic chose the Chicago Bulls early in free agency. The Bulls already boasted depth at his position with Lonzo Ball and combo guards Alex Caruso, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.

Now it makes more sense after the Bulls on Wednesday announced Ball will "undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee" next week—with another four to six weeks until he's reevaluated. It's a disappointing blow for Ball after his January surgery for a bone bruise and meniscus tear in the same knee.

"I'm sad for him," one NBA executive said. "He's been hurt his entire career."

Ball, who turns 25 next month, has played more than 55 games just once in five seasons, peaking at 63 for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019-20. That includes his first couple of years in the league with the L.A. Lakers, when Ball spent his offseasons recovering from injuries instead of reworking his famously odd shot mechanics.

It's a shame. When he's healthy, he is one of the unique players in the league, and perhaps the Bulls' best two-way player.

Ball's defensive rating of 107 points allowed per 100 possessions was second on the team among guards behind Caruso's 105.5. Comparatively, DeMar DeRozan was lower at 112, with Zach LaVine 113.4, White 113.6 and Dosunmu 114.1 even worse.

Prolific scorers like LaVine (112.5) and White (112.3) boasted higher offensive ratings, but both Caruso (110.5) and Ball (110.1) were right behind them.

Caruso and Ball give the Bulls their best chance at getting stops without draining the offense. Not many tandems can boast that kind of production, and the Bulls need that to be a force in the postseason.

"Lonzo doesn't need the ball, which is strange for a point guard," a former NBA executive said. "He just gets a team's offense hopping, and he's all over the place defensively."

The hope for Chicago is that Ball will recover from this next procedure for a November or December return. The fear would be the still-young guard never living up to his $80-84 million contract.

Without Ball, the team's defense takes a hit. The burden will fall on Caruso and second-year guard Dosunmu. The rest of the backcourt (LaVine, White and Dragic) aren't known to be top-flight defenders. DeRozan isn't the defender he used to be. Chicago needs a big defensive year from forward Patrick Williams, especially with Ball sidelined.

The challenge for the Bulls in trying to fix the issue is the uncertainty of Ball's recovery. A smooth return can't be assumed, given that his recovery from a January surgery earlier this year hasn't gone well. If he's not a significant part of the rotation this season, the franchise takes a sizable hit.

But if Ball is back to form by December, any trade in the meantime is probably unwarranted. Chicago shouldn't try to rush a trade through given it doesn't have much to offer.

The team still owes protected first-round picks to the Orlando Magic (Nikola Vucevic) and San Antonio Spurs (DeRozan). Those protections, along with the Stepien Rule, make it difficult for the team to send out another of its own firsts. Unless the Bulls make a subsequent deal with the Spurs to amend protections, the only first Chicago has to offer is from the Portland Trail Blazers (2023) for Lauri Markkanen in a three-way trade last summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That Blazers first—lottery-protected through 2028—is the only significant trade asset the Bulls have to offer without pruning talent from the current roster.

Offseason buzz had Williams off-limits in trade, but Chicago was believed to have explored the market for White this summer. Now with Ball hurt, should the team part with another guard?

The Details

Naturally, outgoing trade collateral would depend on the return. White is in the last year of his contract at $7.4 million and is extension-eligible until the start of the season. There's little expectation around the league an extension for White is near. If he is dealt, the Bulls can bring back players earning up to $9.37 million. That grows to $11.9 million if he's packaged with center Tony Bradley.

But what would Chicago even target? Vucevic is in the last year of his contract and is projected to stay with the franchise long term. Maybe the Bulls target a starting power forward, but if the team expects Williams to grow into that role, a quick deal doesn't make a ton of sense.

Ball may return to full strength, and Williams may have a breakout season. The Bulls, who are right below the NBA's $150.3 million luxury-tax threshold, need to tread carefully. The franchise doesn't have the flexibility to make an emergency trade just because Ball might miss a couple of months.

Free agency isn't the answer because Chicago already did its due diligence in signing Dragic for added backcourt depth. The Bulls will get through the early days of the season without too much trouble.

The leg issues that have plagued Ball through most of his career shouldn't now be a surprise to the Bulls since they acquired him via sign-and-trade last summer from the Pelicans.

He has three years left on his deal, including a player option for 2024-25; Chicago needs him healthy later in the year and into the playoffs. It's not a crisis in September or October.

Given his talent, it would be a true shame if Ball doesn't fully recover. In the meantime, the Bulls are stuck waiting to see if their starting point guard can get back to full strength.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter, @EricPincus.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers engaged in trade talks this week, but Indiana's asking price of two unprotected first-round picks was too high.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported that news during an appearance on Bally Sports on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/TheRally/status/1572699575093460993

Charania mentioned Indiana center Myles Turner and guard Buddy Hield, who have routinely been mentioned in Lakers-Pacers trade talks, speculation and rumors. He notably said the Lakers weren't willing to part with two unprotected first-rounders for the duo.

Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said on the Kevin & Query show (h/t Scott Horner of the Indianapolis Star) that Indiana expects to start the season with Turner, who averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game last year before suffering a season-ending stress reaction in his left foot that capped his season at 42 games.

Hield averaged 18.2 points on 44.7 percent shooting in 26 games for the Pacers last year after being traded from the Sacramento Kings.

The Lakers have been involved in a litany of trade talks this offseason, with point guard Russell Westbrook notably connected in potential deals involving Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving.

The Pacers talks went nowhere as well, so the Lakers' moves this year revolved around changing the supporting cast around the Big Three of Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Notable additions include Patrick Beverley, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Thomas Bryant, Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr. Former superstars and veterans Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony are gone, as are Kent Bazemore, Talen Horton-Tucker and others.

L.A. is only two years removed from an NBA title, but the Lakers fell flat last year en route to a 33-49 record and 11th-place finish in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are set to start the year with a road matchup against the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Oct. 18.