The former Chicago Bulls star joined Brian Windhorst on about his newest memoir “Above the Noise.” DeRozan didn’t hesitate to pull back the curtain on his tough childhood in Compton, California, and his complicated relationship with his father. While he may no longer be wearing red, DeRozan will forever be welcomed at the United Center.
With that in mind, I highly recommend giving the interview a listen if you get a chance. It’s a fascinating look into what makes the human being he is today.
Of course, Windhorst couldn’t finish the interview without asking DeMar DeRozan about his move to Sacramento. The six-time All-Star said he’s worked out plenty with starting big man Domantas Sabonis, and he also shared that a handful of players on the Kings roster were a part of his recruitment. He clearly feels needed in northern California, but that doesn’t mean he sounds happy to have left Chicago.
“You kind of feel it, you’ve been in the league long enough, you kind of know where something is going. I tried my best because that city was so embracing to me,” DeRozan said of his time in Chicago. “They took me in. The culture behind that … That’s a sports city through in and through out. And for the first time in my career to be a part of a town that is from top to bottom sports, it lives and dies by its sports, I just wanted to be a staple in that as best as I could.”
You left your mark, DeMar. You made what would have been an unwatchable three years of Chicago Bulls basketball pretty darn enjoyable. The overall achievements of the Bulls’ “Big 3” left a lot to be desired, but DeRozan’s individual effort will only be remembered fondly for years. As I’ve said before, no one is ever going to look twice when a DeRozan jersey is spotted in the United Center crowd.
“Especially those young guys there, the Cobys, the Pat Williams, I wanted to be with those guys and show them how to win at a high level because they made coming to work easy. And the respect I have for Billy Donovan. I just wanted everybody to eat from that more so than anything. I tried to do my best. I didn’t want to leave, but it’s the business of basketball. Things happen.”
Letting DeMar DeRozan go was the right move, but I’m still mad at the front office for making that the case. Instead of continuing to aggressively build a winning roster after the 2021 offseason, they sat on their hands and hoped for the best. Who knows what could’ve happened if they had taken the approach of almost every other win-now organization and refused to settle for mediocre results?
The United Center made a pretty big announcement on Tuesday morning. The arena is officially removing plastic water bottles and signing a multi-year partnership . All concessions will now feature aluminum water bottles, and the plan is also to add premium water fountains, refilling stations, and multi-functional faucets. Let’s not forget that the UC is one of the largest arenas in sports. If they’re ready to set this example, I wouldn’t be surprised if several others follow suit.
JUST ANNOUNCED: The United Center, and announced a multi-year partnership with , the global leader in water treatment solutions!
As the new official water partner, this will eliminate all single-use plastic water bottles in the arena. — United Center (@UnitedCenter)
I’m still not sure Phil Jackson’s 13 NBA championships are talked about enough. His two as a player are often forgotten, but he was a very consistent contributor for those early ’70s Knicks teams. Then, I feel like his success in Chicago made his next five championships with the Lakers feel far more normal than they should have. I mean, it truly is insane to think that he found that much coaching success after his time with the Bulls. When else have we seen someone do what Jackson did with two different franchises and two different generations of players? Anyway, Happy Birthday to the Zen Master!
Join us in wishing a Happy 79th Birthday to 11x NBA champion as a Head Coach, 2x NBA champion as a player, 1996 NBA Coach of the Year and inductee, Phil Jackson! — NBA History (@NBAHistory)
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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