SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs agreed to sign and trade DeMar DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls for Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks, according to multiple reports.
DeRozan was an unrestricted free agent and could have signed anywhere, and reportedly had mutual interest with the but not many teams had cap space to give him a deal worth anywhere near what his market value is. The deal with the Bulls is reportedly for $85 million over three years.
Young is a 6'8" 235-pound power forward who averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for the Bulls last season. Aminu is also a 6'8" forward, but he's played just 41 games in the last two seasons. They'll take up a combined $24,373,800 in cap space next season, but they're both on expiring contracts.
Conspicuously absent from the trade is floor-spacing big man Lauri Markkanen, who is a free agent the Spurs were linked to this summer. San Antonio could hold on to both Young and Aminu and see how well they fit the need for big man depth in San Antonio. They could also use those expiring contracts in another deal.
San Antonio will be within a few million dollars of the salary cap if they hang on to Young and Aminu, which would mean an end to any chance of the Spurs offering John Collins a max deal to lure him out of Atlanta. The Hawks have reportedly offered him a 5-year deal worth $125 million.
Earlier in the day, the Spurs watched two other veterans leave the locker room as Rudy Gay signed with Utah and Patty Mills agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
Where do the Spurs stand now? Was the deal with the Bulls enough? Jeff Garcia and guest S.A. Sports Star's Michael Jimenez unpack what happened with the Spurs on the latest episode of Locked on Spurs after all of Tuesday's free agency action.
The Locked On Spurs podcast is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever you listen to podcasts.
