DeMar DeRozan could become an unrestricted free agent over the summer, but he’s made his position perfectly clear.
“This is where I want to be,” he said in an interview (via NBC Sports Chicago) after Thursday morning’s shootaround.
Similar to the season before, the Bulls have just scraped into Play-In contention.
But DeRozan isn’t one to bail when things aren’t all sunshine and roses.
“You watch me, how hard I play, how hard I want to give success to this organization, this city, that’s my main focal point,” DeMar told NBC Sports. “I always want to finish a job. The last couple years have been tough with injuries and so many ups and downs. But I always want to weather the storm and stick through whatever situation it is to make the most out of it, to make it even better. That’s always been my mindset and it’s my mindset going forward. How can I be here and make this a winning organization like when I first came?
“The feeling, the vibe, the energy that was around when we had that run (in 2021-22), I want the city and all these players to experience that again—and for myself too,” he continued. “It’s always easy to complain and say what’s not. But I made it clear this is where I want to be and ride it out. I don’t want to go nowhere.
“They know it. Everybody knows my stance. I lay it down from this perspective: I want to come back. Everybody else figure out what you need to figure out. And that’s just how I look at it so I don’t stress or worry about what’s what. I made it clear this is where I want to be. The powers that be just need to figure out what needs to happen. Everybody knows my mindset.”
The 15-year veteran is hoping the Bulls offer him up a contract extension comes before unrestricted free agency begins on July 1.
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