The Bulls were a no-show in the first half against the Wizards and it ended up costing them the game. Just another reminder that it’s time for DeMar DeRozan to take control of his future once this season comes to an end.
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
It’s an easy game to point at and say, “There it was, there was the low point for the 2023-24 Bulls.”
After all, into town came a 13-win Wizards team, arguably missing two of its better players in Kyle Kuzma and Deni Avdija, and with all but nothing to play for.
By the time the United Center was clearing out on Monday night, however, it was the home team that looked both directionless and lifeless.
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to be pissed off until we get back out on the court,” veteran DeMar DeRozan said afterward. “We shouldn’t drop games like this right now. We’re resilient, but we can’t live on the edge every single game. We gotta leave it out there these last 10 games. We can’t have no more excuses. Play like your life depends on it; simple as that.”
It had to be the low point of the season.
But here’s the thing about this latest version of “competitiveness” that the front office of executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have marched out there: This isn’t even close to rock bottom this season.
In the standings? Maybe. It was at least debatable with the two losses to a 12-win Detroit team also on the resume. But rock bottom came and went back on Feb. 8, as the NBA trade deadline ticked down and the Bulls were one of only two teams in the Association not to make a single move.
That’s a low point. Losing to the Wizards with just 10 games left and play-in positioning still in doubt? That’s a product of a front office not understanding how to move forward with a roster that’s going nowhere.
“It sucks because all these games matter,” DeRozan continued. “You want to be playing good basketball towards this part of the season. In the circumstance we are under everything matters so much more. We’ve got to be more desperate. Not just the beginning of the game, but every single game here on out.
“There’s time, but we need to be playing the right way. Competing from beginning to end, that’s all that matters.”
At the end of March, yes.
What should really matter for DeRozan, however, has little to do with March. It’s time for the future Hall of Famer to do the right thing for the next stage of his career and move on in free agency this summer.
He will get a contract offer from Karnisovas & Co. It will be his best offer because the Bulls only know how to bid against themselves. Don’t take it.
This is only going to get worse before it gets better, and at age 34 DeRozan owes himself a chance at a championship.
Since this front office can’t protect themselves from irrational roster decisions, DeRozan has to be the adult in the room and use this opportunity to walk away. Not easy for DeRozan because he lives by a code of loyalty and sticking around until the job is finished.
This job and team are finished.
When a dumpster is on fire you don’t climb back into it, no matter what the dollar signs say. Run. Make that sprint, DeMar.
Maybe, just maybe, that will then force this front office to start doing what should have been done two seasons ago — realizing that a teardown is the only option at this point.
When the heart and soul of the team opts to leave for less money, message sent.
Then there’s no reason to keep an Alex Caruso in the mix, and heck, it shouldn’t be taken off the table to at least gauge the trade value of a Coby White and/or Ayo Dosunmu.
But DeRozan needs to be the first domino. If not, expect rock bottoms to simply become the norm for this organization.