The Bulls star is evidently carrying with him some lessons he’s learned from his past experiences.
Despite recent improvements in performance, the Chicago Bulls remain one of the most prominent teams in trade speculations. They have logical trade candidates in Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and Alex Caruso, so this type of chatter continues to dominate the franchise’s debate.
Nonetheless, DeRozan, who is in his 15th NBA season and knows the business inside and out, knows better than to let the trade rumors surrounding his name and team impact him emotionally. After all, this is beyond his control.
“I don’t sit up here refreshing my apps in the morning to see what’s what, rumors or anything. Should we, shouldn’t we… it’s a tough question for me because being in the league so long, I can really be at a point where that s**t doesn’t bother me,” DeRozan said, per Joe Cowley of of Chicago Sun Times
Indeed, DeMar DeRozan has seen this dance before, even if only during his time with the Bulls. Last season, the 34-year-old wing, along with many other Bulls players, was prominently involved in trade speculations until Chicago opted to hold firm and make one last-ditch push to make the playoffs.
However, in 2018, DeRozan’s perspective on trade involvement shifted dramatically. After all, the Toronto Raptors traded DeRozan, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, for Kawhi Leonard despite DeRozan’s expectation from Raptors management that he would continue to play for the team he had called home for the first nine years of his career.
“Everybody has a job and whenever someone is called to make a decision for that job, no matter what it is, that’s what it’s gotta be. For me, I just have learned not to carry that emotion with me because it will drive you crazy, constantly worrying about what somebody else is going to do, blah, blah, blah. I really don’t worry about it. I can’t,” DeRozan added.
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