The Bulls have waived Jordan Crawford and Marcus Simmons, the team announced via press release. The release of Simmons, a shooting guard who went undrafted in 2011, comes as no surprise, but Crawford, a four-year NBA veteran, appeared to have a decent shot to stick for opening night. The moves reduce the Bulls roster to 15 players, including 13 full guarantees, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the team is through with preseason cuts, since Chicago usually starts the season with only 13 or 14 players. Both Crawford and Simmons signed non-guaranteed deals.
Crawford, 26, was trying to restart his NBA career after spending last season in China and the D-League. The combo guard made 35 starts in 39 appearances for the Celtics in 2013/14, but he spent the second half of that season buried on the bench with the Warriors following a trade, and he’s had trouble regaining his foothold in the NBA since. He averaged 3.2 points in 7.2 minutes per game across five preseason appearances this fall.
Simmons and Crawford were briefly teammates with the D-League Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season. The 27-year-old Simmons won 2010/11 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior at USC, but he’s struggled offensively, shooting just 28.8% on 52 three-point attempts in the D-League last year. He went scoreless in about three minutes of preseason action for the Bulls.
Cameron Bairstow and Cristiano Felicio remain as the only Bulls without full guarantees. Bairstow has a $425K partial guarantee, and while the Bulls are high on Felicio, he’s without any guaranteed money.