Bulls Rumors

Bulls Notes: Young, Point Guards, Hutchison, WCJ

Veteran forward Thaddeus Young played in the postseason in each of his last three seasons in Indiana, and has appeared in the playoffs in eight of his 12 NBA seasons in total. However, as an unrestricted free agent this offseason, he opted to sign with the Bulls, who were coming off a 22-win season.

Speaking today to reporters, including Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), Young said he received interest from potential championships contenders in free agency, but liked the idea of becoming a veteran leader in Chicago. According to Young, he intends to bring energy and veteran leadership to the club and to be the sort of player who can speak up in the locker room and hold everyone accountable (Twitter link via Strotman).

While joining the Bulls may have appealed to Young for the reasons he mentioned, it’s probably also safe to assume that most of those title contenders who expressed interest in him this summer weren’t able to match the $13MM+ annual salary he received from Chicago.

Here’s more from the Bulls on Media Day:

  • Head coach Jim Boylen said the point guard situation in Chicago will “work its way out” in terms of minutes and that the Bulls’ players have embraced the competition, tweets Strotman. Tomas Satoransky, Coby White, Kris Dunn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Shaquille Harrison are all expected to be in the point guard mix.
  • The Bulls’ goal in 2019/20 is to make the playoffs, Boylen declared today (Twitter link via Strotman). The club finished 19 games back of the No. 8 seed last season.
  • Chandler Hutchison, who suffered a hamstring strain earlier this month, is “going to be out for a little bit,” per head of basketball operations John Paxson (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune). Paxson also noted that Luke Kornet has turf toe and will miss a few days.
  • Wendell Carter Jr., on the other hand, said today that he feels 100% – and better than he has for the last five or six years – after undergoing core muscle surgery during the offseason, tweets Strotman.

Bulls Sign Milton Doyle

SEPTEMBER 30: The Bulls have officially signed Doyle, the team announced today. The club’s training camp roster features 19 players – Simisola Shittu, who reportedly agreed to sign with Chicago, isn’t on the list at this point.

SEPTEMBER 23: The Bulls have reached a deal with former Nets guard Milton Doyle, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to a partially guaranteed contract. It’s not clear if Doyle’s partial guarantee will exceed the $50K figure that Exhibit 10 recipients and two-way candidates generally receive.

A Chicago native, Doyle went undrafted out of Loyola in 2017 and spent most of his rookie season on a two-way contract with Brooklyn, appearing in 10 NBA regular season contests for the team. The majority of his minutes came in the G League, as he averaged 20.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 4.4 APG in 45 games with the Long Island Nets.

After his two-way deal with the Nets expired, Doyle signed with Spanish team Murcia for the 2018/19 season. Now, the 25-year-old is back stateside and seeking an NBA roster spot.

While the Bulls are carrying only 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, Shaquille Harrison is the odds-on favorite to claim the 15th and final spot on the club’s regular season roster, given his $175K partial guarantee.

Chicago has an open two-way slot, so if Doyle doesn’t make the 15-man squad, he may be a candidate for that opening. He could also simply end up joining the Windy City Bulls as an affiliate player — Windy City, Chicago’s G League affiliate, acquired his returning rights from Long Island in a trade today.

Central Notes: Markkanen, Crawford, Boylen, Bulls

The Bulls are preparing for Lauri Markkanen to make a major splash in his third season with the franchise, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports writes.

Markkanen missed part of last season due to a right elbow injury, but the 22-year-old still showed promise by averaging 18.7 points, nine rebounds and 32.3 minutes in 52 contests.

“I think (management) did a really good job drafting and getting high character free agents,” Markkanen said about his team’s success in free agency. “Everybody is coming along really well in our workouts. I’ve played against Thad. He’s a really good player. He’s very physical. And what he really does is lead vocally. I’ve really enjoyed talking to him and working out with him.”

The Bulls added to an already-strong young core of Markkanen, Zach LaVine and Wendell Carter Jr. in free agency, acquiring the likes of Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young on multi-year deals.

The goal for Chicago now, Markkanen explains, is using its new roster additions to make a long-awaited push for the playoffs next spring.

“That’s our goal,” Markkanen said. “Personally for me, just missing the playoffs and having such long offseasons, that’s a bummer. I would love to be in the playoffs. We’re just focused on improving every day.”

There’s more from the Central Division tonight:

  • Free agent guard Jordan Crawford has been working out with the Pistons ahead of training camp, according to Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops (Twitter link). Crawford has made past NBA stops with Golden State, Boston, Washington and Atlanta.
  • Bulls coach Jim Boylen has a chance to exercise his well-documented hard-nosed culture with the team at training camp, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Boylen took over head coaching duties when Fred Hoiberg was dismissed last December, with the second-year head coach having his first opportunity at running the franchise’s camp before the season.
  • In a different story for The Chicago Sun-Times, Cowley examines five potential Bulls storylines this upcoming season. The Bulls did a number of things to improve their team this offseason, including signing veterans, improving the bench, and successfully dealing with injuries.

Can LaVine Be An All-Star This Season?

  • The best-case scenario for Bulls guard Zach LaVine? He’s got All-Star potential, and should be an All-Star this season, writes Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago. But, on the flip side, if he isn’t able to mesh better with Lauri Markkanen and improve on the defensive side of the ball, it may be another long season in Chicago.

2019 Offseason In Review: Chicago Bulls

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.

Signings:

  • Standard contracts:
    • Thaddeus Young: Three years, $40.64MM. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using cap room.
    • Tomas Satoransky: Three years, $30MM. Third year partially guaranteed ($5MM). Acquired via sign-and-trade using cap room.
    • Ryan Arcidiacono: Three years, $9MM. Third-year team option. Re-signed using Early Bird rights.
    • Luke Kornet: Two years, $4.5MM. Signed using room exception.
    • Shaquille Harrison: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($175K). Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Two-way contracts:
  • Non-guaranteed camp contracts:

Trades:

  • Acquired Tomas Satoransky in a sign-and-trade from the Wizards in exchange for either the Bulls’ or Grizzlies’ 2020 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), the right to swap the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick for either the Bulls’ or Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), and the Bulls’ 2023 second-round pick with protections removed.
    • Note: The Wizards had acquired the Bulls’ 2023 second-round pick with 31-36 protection in a previous trade.

Draft picks:

  • 1-7: Coby White — Signed to rookie contract.
  • 2-38: Daniel Gafford — Signed to four-year, minimum-salary contract. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth-year team option. Signed using cap room.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Salary cap situation:

  • Used cap space; now over the cap.
  • Carrying approximately $112.31MM in guaranteed salary.
  • Hard-capped.
  • $2.52MM of room exception still available ($2.25MM used on Luke Kornet).

Story of the summer:

The Bulls have been in rebuilding mode since trading Jimmy Butler to Minnesota during the 2017 offseason. Chicago won 27 games in 2017/18 and just 22 games last season, reflecting both the team’s ongoing youth movement and a struggle to keep its roster healthy.

While the Bulls aren’t yet ready to go head-to-head with the Eastern Conference’s heavyweights, they entered the 2019 offseason looking to take real steps toward contention. After all, Otto Porter is entering his seventh NBA season, Zach LaVine is entering his sixth season, and Lauri Markkanen will be in his third year. With several of their cornerstone pieces in or nearing their respective primes, the Bulls believe it’s time to win a few more games.

That goal was evident based on Chicago’s approach to free agency. After using the No. 7 overall pick to select point guard Coby White, the team wasn’t content to hand him the keys to the offense, going out and acquiring veteran point guard Tomas Satoransky in a sign-and-trade with the Wizards to add some stability to the backcourt.

The Bulls took a similar approach up front. With veteran center Robin Lopez departing in free agency, the franchise could’ve leaned on its frontcourt duo of Markkanen and Wendell Carter. While those two big men should see plenty of important minutes in 2019/20, Chicago also brought in free agent power forward Thaddeus Young, a reliable veteran who has appeared in 51 playoff contests over the course of his 12-year career.

Outside of Young, Porter (31 playoff games) and Satoransky (16), no other Bull has played in more than one postseason series, so adding vets with that sort of experience was crucial for a club with playoff aspirations.

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Bulls Sign Perrion Callandret

The Bulls have signed former Idaho guard Perrion Callandret to a contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Callandret published a photo on Instagram on Tuesday that showed him putting pen to paper.

Callandret, who went undrafted out of Idaho a year ago, averaged 9.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG on .440/.407/.667 shooting during his final college season in 2017/18.

The 24-year-old is close with Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who reportedly asked Chicago to consider Callandret for a spot on their Summer League roster earlier this year. The Bulls did end up taking Callandret to Las Vegas, where he appeared in four Summer League games for the club. Now, he has signed his first NBA contract with the team.

Callandret is unlikely to earn a spot on Chicago’s regular season roster, but the fact that the Bulls were willing to sign him to an NBA contract suggests they may want him on their G League roster this season. Assuming his deal is an Exhibit 10 contract, he’d be eligible for a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived by Chicago and then spends at least two months with the Windy City Bulls.

Previewing What Adam Mokoka Could Bring To Bulls

  • Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago previews what Adam Mokoka could bring to the Bulls this season, with the 21-year-old currently on a two-way contract. Mokoka averaged 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in summer league with Chicago, playing in a total of five games.

14 NBA Teams Have Open 20-Man Roster Spots

With NBA training camps right around the corner, several more teams filled their 20-man offseason rosters this week. The Hornets did so on Monday, with the Mavericks, Pistons, Raptors, and Hawks following suit over the next few days. Those clubs join a list of 16 total teams that don’t have any openings on their offseason rosters.

Of course, every NBA team with a full 20-man roster is carrying multiple players who have non-guaranteed contracts, so it’s not as if any of them would be hamstrung if they really want to sign another player. But for now at least, it appears as if those 16 teams have their 20-man squads set for when camps get underway at the end of the month.

That leaves 14 clubs that still have open roster spots, as our tracker shows. Here’s a breakdown of those teams, along with my speculation on whether we can expect them to make moves within the next week or two:

19 players under contract:

  • Golden State Warriors
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Sacramento Kings
  • Washington Wizards

None of these teams are carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible they’ll still add a veteran player who could earn a regular season roster spot. But it’s more likely that they’ll each sign another young player who could end up in the G League, since all four teams have their own NBAGL affiliates. The Wizards, who need to add some point guard depth, are said to be eyeing Chris Chiozza for their final spot.

18 players under contract:

  • Boston Celtics
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Houston Rockets
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Orlando Magic
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trail Blazers

While it’s not official yet, the Celtics essentially have a full roster. Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten have both reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts with the Celtics, but have yet to finalize them. Once they’re under contract, Boston’s 20-man roster will be full.

The Magic could also have a full 20-man roster if and when they complete their reported agreement with Isaac Humphries and sign first-round pick Chuma Okeke. The Pelicans, meanwhile, reportedly reached deals with undrafted rookies Jalen Adams, Javon Bess, and Aubrey Dawkins, but there’s only room for two of them on the roster, so unless New Orleans plans to waive a player, the team won’t be signing all three.

The Rockets are signing Thabo Sefolosha and would have room for one more camp invitee, while I’d expect the Suns to invite two more young players to camp with them.

The Nuggets and Trail Blazers don’t have their own G League affiliates, so they may not fill out their rosters unless they just need healthy bodies for camp.

17 players under contract:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Oklahoma City Thunder

All three of these teams have their own G League affiliates and should fill out their camp rosters with young players who can play for the Long Island Nets, Windy City Bulls, or OKC Blue. Of course, rumors continue to swirl that the Nets are eyeing Carmelo Anthony, but I wouldn’t expect the Bulls or Thunder to be seeking any veteran help.

Heat Sign Guard Mychal Mulder

The Heat have signed guard Mychal Mulder, according to a team press release.

It figures to be an Exhibit 10 contract, as the hard-capped Heat have a pair of open spots on their camp roster.

Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, acquired Mulder from the Windy City Bulls in exchange for the rights to Charles Cooke and the South Bay Lakers’ first-round draft pick earlier in the day. Cooke has committed to play in Italy this season, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Mulder appeared in 47 games with the Windy City Bulls last season and averaged 13.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.6 APG in 32.9 MPG. Mulder shot 41.2% from three-point range. He also played regularly for the Bulls’ G League affiliate the previous season.

Mulder went undrafted in 2017 after playing two seasons at Kentucky. He worked out for the Timberwolves in June.

Bulls Sign Justin Simon To Exhibit 10 Deal

SEPTEMBER 15: The signing is official, according to the Real GM Transactions Log.

SEPTEMBER 12: Undrafted rookie free agent Justin Simon will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bulls today, league sources tell Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Once it’s official, the signing will increase Chicago’s roster count to 17 players.

Simon, who declared for the 2019 draft as an early entrant following his junior year at St. John’s, averaged 10.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 34 games (32.9 MPG) last season. The 6’5″ shooting guard struggled from beyond the arc, making just 28.9% of his attempts, but provided plenty of value on the other end of the court, earning Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors.

After going undrafted in June, Simon joined the Bulls for Summer League play and impressed the team in Las Vegas by averaging 6.8 PPG and 4.0 RPG with a .516 FG% in five games (21.0 MPG). He worked out for the Heat last month, but will head to training camp with Chicago.

With 14 players on guaranteed contracts and Shaquille Harrison also expected to make the regular season roster, the Bulls project to have a full 15-man squad. According to Zagoria, Simon will likely end up with the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.