JANUARY 19: Hill has officially signed his two-way contract, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. The move ensures he’ll be active for Wednesday’s game vs. Cleveland.
JANUARY 17: The Bulls have released guard Devon Dotson, the team announced today (via Twitter). Dotson had been on a two-way contract with the club.
An undrafted free agent out of Kansas, Dotson spent his rookie season in 2020/21 on a two-way deal with the Bulls, then signed a new contract for the ’21/22 campaign. Across two seasons in Chicago, the 22-year-old averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.0 APG in 22 NBA games (6.1 MPG). He played a larger role in the G League, especially this season, when he averaged 20.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.3 APG, and 2.2 SPG in 10 contests (36.9 MPG) for the Windy City Bulls.
Dotson will clear waivers on Wednesday, assuming he goes unclaimed, and will be free to sign with any team at that time.
Meanwhile, the Bulls will fill their newly-opened roster slot by signing forward Malcolm Hill to a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As we detailed over the weekend, Hill – who is currently on a 10-day hardship contract – played 18 minutes in Saturday’s loss to Boston and was on the court in the closing minutes as the game was being decided. That’s the only game he has played so far for the Bulls, but he apparently impressed head coach Billy Donovan and the front office enough to earn a rest-of-season commitment.
Hill’s 10-day contract runs through Sunday night. However, the Bulls will have no players left in the health and safety protocols with Alex Caruso on the verge of returning, so they wouldn’t be able to activate Hill as long as he remains on that hardship deal. Immediately converting him to a two-way contract would ensure he remains available this week.
Bummer for Dotson who worked hard. He got caught in the ‘too many guards’ dilemma. Hill mainly is on the roster because he can defend the 4. Small sample size but he played well.
Hope Devon gets another shot somewhere, he deserves it.