The Bulls star is evidently carrying with him some lessons he’s learned from his past experiences.

The Chicago Bulls, despite their improved play as of late, continue to be one of the most prominent teams in trade rumors. They have the likes of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and Alex Caruso as logical trade candidates, and as a result, this kind of noise is what continues to dominate the discourse surrounding the franchise.

Nevertheless, DeRozan, who now knows the business inside and out because he’s in his 15th NBA season, knows better than to let all the trade noise swirling around his name and his team affect him emotionally. After all, this is not something he can 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 one is only taking into account his stint with the Bulls. Last season, the 34-year old wing, among with many other Bulls players, were heavily involved in trade rumors before Chicago decided to stand pat and make one last-ditch effort to make the postseason.

But way back in 2018 is when DeRozan’s view on trade involvement changed drastically. After all, the Toronto Raptors traded DeRozan, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, for Kawhi Leonard even though DeRozan received the impression from the Raptors brass that he would continue to play for the franchise he called home for the first nine years of his career.

Now, the Bulls star knows better than to let the dark cloud of trade rumors hang above his head and affect his play negatively.

“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.