DeMar DeRozan has been a revelation this season, with his Chicago Bulls team back to being contenders in the East. The former Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs forward is also competing for MVP honors, having played incredibly well so far.
The Bulls, though, might have experienced different fortunes as DeRozan was pretty close to joining the Los Angeles Clippers before deciding to sign with Chicago.
Speaking to former teammate Serge Ibaka on the latter’s How Hungry Are You? show, the Bulls star revealed things progressed with Chicago while folks from the Clippers were on their way to meet with him.
“The Clippers were on their way to meet you to sign,” Ibaka began. “And then I heard you canceled the meeting and you signed with the Chicago Bulls. What happened bro? Before you answer the question, the last 2 years, you was the one, you be saying, I wanna come back home to play.”
“Nothing but respect for Lawrence Frank and the entire Clippers organization. Great people. It definitely was an opportunity that presented itself. I think for me, the Chicago thing just took off by the time they was on their way to my house. It was a situation, I just didn’t… I didn’t pass it up,” DeRozan replied.
“This happened when they were on their way to meet you?” Ibaka inquired.
“It really happened that way. It could’ve been a day earlier, it would’ve worked,” was the response.
DeRozan is averaging 28.0 points per game this season, with only Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of him in that regard.
The Bulls are fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 39-26 record as they approach the playoffs.
