The 5 free agents that make the most sense from ESPN's Top 20 list
By Chad Porto
3. SF DeMar DeRozen - Chicago Bulls (ESPN Rank: #9)
DeMar DeRozan, on a two-year contract, would be hard to argue with. Defensively, he's nothing impressive but he'd be an upgrade over Jordan Clarkson and Keyonte George; which is a start. Offensively, he isn't much known for his three-point shot and in fact, the fewer threes he attempts per game the better.
DeRozan is someone who excels at the mid-range, so much so that he nearly won the Most Valuable Player of the Year in 2022 had it not been for the Bulls falling off in the second half of the season. He's not going to stretch the court much but he is going to move well in transition and provide the Utah Jazz very reliable mid-range scoring. Far more effectively than that of Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson was known for his weak pull-up attempts around the paint, and not really succeeding with the shot.
It's part of the reason why his true shooting was so poor this past season. DeRozan is far more effective than Clarkson when shooting from that area. If he takes less money, he could end up finally finding some post-season success in Utah with the Jazz, as a nice-mid-range improvement over Clarkson.