Category: Bulls

Trendon Watford should be at top of Bulls’ free agency target list

As NBA free agency rolls on, Trendon Watford should top the Chicago Bulls’ target list.

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Just a few days into NBA free agency, the Chicago Bulls have been active. On the first night, they re-signed Coby White to a new deal and brought in veteran point guard Jevon Carter on a three-year contract. A few days prior, they re-signed star big man Nikola Vucevic.

However, they still need to fill their roster. While the Bulls are striving for a playoff spot next year, they should also be trying to add young talent they can develop into high-level guys. Trendon Watford fits that description perfectly.

Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation first brought up the idea, listing Watford as a realistic name Chicago could target on a minimum contract. The Portland Trail Blazers recently waived the young forward in a move that came as a shock to many.

Watford is just 22 years old and is entering his third NBA season. He showed significant potential in Portland this past season, appearing in 62 games and playing 19.1 minutes per contest.

The 6-foot-9 power forward/center averaged 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 56% shooting from the field and 39.1% shooting from beyond the arc (on just 1.0 attempts per game).

For a Bulls squad in need of forward depth, Watford provides the perfect mix of quality play and developmental intrigue. He’s a hard-nosed player who plays with an elite level of hustle, and he would undoubtedly become a fan favorite in Chicago, should he be brought on board.

Watford should top the Bulls’ free agency target list heading into the coming days.

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Former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen receives new NBA job

Former Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen is back in the NBA.

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For the past decade, the Chicago Bulls haven’t exactly been at the peak of their basketball existence. Two years ago, they snapped a four-year playoff drought, but outside of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, no one has consistently led them to the postseason.

Throughout the dog days, the Bulls went through different coaching options, and not all of them were favorites of the fan base. One coach in particular, Jim Boylen, received heavy criticism from fans. He took over as head coach 24 games into the 2018-19 season and was fired after the 2019-20 season. Now, he’s back in the league.

The Indiana Pacers named Boylen to their coaching staff, where he will serve under Rick Carlisle, per KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

“After serving as a consultant last season for the Indiana Pacers, the franchise named him an assistant coach on Rick Carlisle’s coaching staff on Saturday. The former Bulls coach has over two decades of NBA experience and has developed a reputation as a defensive strategist.

This will be Boylen’s second stint with the Pacers. He previously served as Frank Vogel’s assistant from 2011-13,” Johnson wrote.

Boylen has been floating around the NBA since the 1992 season, when he began his coaching career. He spent 11 seasons with the Houston Rockets. He has also spent time with the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs.

Now, Boylen will make his official return to an NBA bench and will be in the same division as the Bulls, the only spot where he’s landed a head coaching position thus far.

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Lack of Bulls-Ayo Dosunmu news in free agency is surprising

Chicago Bulls point guard Ayo Dosunmu is currently a restricted free agent, but there hasn’t been any news about a new contract yet.

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The Chicago Bulls made multiple moves on the first day of free agency. In addition to re-signing Nikola Vucevic a few days prior, they brought back Coby White and signed veteran point guard Jevon Carter to a three-year deal, addressing their needs at the point guard position.

However, their work is far from over. They still need to make significant changes to the roster if they want to push for the playoffs next season. On top of that, they need to figure out their plans with restricted free agent point guard Ayo Dosunmu, who is entering his third NBA season.

Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation noted it’s surprising there has been no news about Dosunmu through the first few days of free agency.

“Not to mention, I’m a bit surprised we’ve heard nothing about Ayo Dosunmu,” Schuster wrote. “While I understand that his return could create a bit of a logjam in the backcourt, he has proven to be a pretty versatile defender who has the size to man multiple positions. With limited young assets on this roster, I have to imagine Chicago is still keen on having him back.”

Dosunmu has been a solid rotation piece for the Bulls for the past two years, though he failed to make a big jump forward in his sophomore season. Given the Bulls’ need for point guard depth, bringing him back would make sense for both parties.

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3 NBA free agency targets for Chicago Bulls with Lonzo Ball DPE

The Chicago Bulls have applied for a $10.2 million DPE due to Lonzo Ball’s injury, so who should they target in NBA free agency?

The Chicago Bulls made sure to stay active on the first night of free agency, bringing back 23-year-old Coby White on a new contract and signing veteran point guard Jevon Carter to a three-year deal, too. Plus, a few days before the beginning of free agency, they inked Nikola Vucevic to a three-year contract extension.

That being said, there are still plenty of solid players left available in free agency, and Chicago has a lot of work to do. But now, they could have an extra tool in their belt to use. The Bulls have applied for a $10.2 million DPE due to Lonzo Ball’s injury, giving them a pathway to add a solid player in free agency.

With that in mind, here are three players they should target with the $10.2 million DPE they might be receiving.

Report: Bulls apply for $10.2 million DPE due to Lonzo Ball injury

The Chicago Bulls have applied for a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception due to Lonzo Ball’s injury.

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The Chicago Bulls have applied for the Disabled Player Exception, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. With Lonzo Ball set to miss the entire 2023-24 season, the value of Chicago’s DPE would be $10.2 million, opening some potential free agency and trade opportunities for the Bulls.

For a Chicago team looking to compete for a playoff spot this season, the exception is extremely valuable. It would open a number of doors for it, allowing it to add talent in an attempt to replace Ball, who was a crucial part of the team’s hot start in the 2021-22 season.

The DPE can be used to sign players, accept players via trade (such as a Traded Player Exception) or claim a player off waivers, as explained by Keith Smith of Spotrac.

“The DPE is unique in that it can be used to sign a player, trade for a player or to claim a player off waivers. However, there are restrictions with the DPE that do not exist for the other exceptions,” Smith wrote.

The restrictions on a DPE are that the contract can only be for the remainder of the season (or in the Bulls’ case, a one-year deal for the 2023-24 season), and it can only be used to sign or trade for a single player.

With NBA free agency ongoing, if the Bulls were granted the exception, it could allow them to sign a higher-tier player than they would have been previously able to.

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Patrick Williams could be biggest mystery for Bulls this season

Patrick Williams’ progression could be the biggest key to the improvement of the Chicago Bulls next year.

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The Chicago Bulls have aspirations of getting back into the playoffs next year. So far this summer, all the moves they’ve made have been with that goal in mind. Chicago re-signed Nikola Vucevic and Coby White and brought in veteran point guard Jevon Carter.

However, the biggest eyebrow-raiser on the team could be someone already on the roster. Patrick Williams is 21 years old (22 by the start of the season) and has already played three NBA seasons. If he’s ready to take on a larger role, his improvement could be the missing piece for Chicago to take a massive step forward.

In a recent mailbag article by Sam Smith of NBA.com, a fan wrote in urging the Bulls to let Williams go full throttle, and Smith noted Williams could be the “biggest mystery” heading into next year.

“I agree Williams may be the big mystery player for the upcoming season,” Smith wrote. “He becomes extension eligible and has stated he wants to play wing, so that suggests he may be ready to embrace that assertiveness everyone keeps calling for. And maybe enhance his rebounding. It’s been for me one of the biggest questions for the summer, both to find a point guard and shooting and either or not to make a commitment to Williams, which I believe management wants to do as they’ve supposedly had him the most hands off in any trade talks. So can he become that and find his space with that run it back thinking? It doesn’t seem so, which is why I still believe there could be change to come.”

Williams’ progression could be the key to the Bulls’ future.

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Important factor of Jevon Carter signing ‘should concern Bulls fans’

While the Jevon Carter signing will help the Chicago Bulls’ depth, there is some room for concern.

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The first night of NBA free agency was anything but boring for Chicago Bulls fans. The team stayed very active. It made a couple of big moves in addition to re-signing Nikola Vucevic earlier in the week. Chicago brought back Coby White on a three-year, $33 million deal (which could get up to $40 million based on incentives).

But the most intriguing move Chicago made was signing veteran point guard Jevon Carter to a three-year, $20 million contract. The Bulls needed to add point guard help this summer, and they did so. However, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bulls fans could have something to be concerned about.

While he admitted Carter has a useful skill set, he pointed toward the veteran’s lack of starting experience as a cause for potential concern. He also noted Carter has big shoes to fill in Patrick Beverley, who helped propel the team to a 14-9 record to end the season this past year. Beverley signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

“What should concern Bulls fans, however, is Carter always has been a role player, with 39 starts and 22.4 minutes per game last season in Milwaukee, both career highs. If the Bulls plan on starting him, how will that translate in a bigger workload?

“Also, Carter isn’t exactly known as a playmaker. The Bulls had numerous issues with late-game offense in close games, with coach Billy Donovan going with a point guard-by-committee approach. The Bulls were 15-23 in clutch-game situations in total last season, and that included a 5-3 record with Beverley.

“Carter has important shoes to fill,” Cowley wrote.

Carter has all the tools to be a solid starter for the Bulls. He has to prove it.

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Coby White contract with Chicago Bulls receives average grade

The Chicago Bulls received a middling grade for the deal they agreed to with Coby White.

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The Chicago Bulls made a nice string of moves on the first night of free agency. A rebuild could be the best pathway forward for the Bulls, but they are pushing for a playoff spot next season rather than hitting the reset button.

Chicago re-signed Nikola Vucevic and handed veteran point guard Jevon Carter a three-year deal. In addition, they brought back 23-year-old point guard Coby White on a three-year, $33 million deal that could get up to $40 million based on certain incentives. However, the move earned a relatively middling grade.

According to the Bleacher Report Staff, Chicago’s deal with White deserves a grade of just a B.

“Coby White hasn’t really shown star upside in his first four seasons with the Chicago Bulls, but he’s still only 23 years old, and he’s hit 37.9 % of his 3-point attempts over the last two seasons.

“This average salary works out to less than a mid-level exception, and that’s fine value for a potential heat-check scorer off the bench,” they wrote.

As they noted, White hasn’t lived up to the expectations set for him when the Bulls selected him with the seventh pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He has been solid but not quite what most Chicago fans envisioned.

Landing him on a new contract for roughly $11 million a season is a decent deal for Chicago, which needs all the help it can get at the point guard position.

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Bulls receive amazing grade for Jevon Carter signing in free agency

The Chicago Bulls received an amazing grade for the Jevon Carter signing in free agency.

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The Chicago Bulls were active on the first day of free agency. At the end of this past season, Arturas Karnisovas stated the team had no intention of rebuilding and would instead push forward. So far, during free agency, the Bulls have made moves that fall in line with that goal.

Chicago re-signed star big man Nikola Vucevic to a new contract and brought back Coby White. Perhaps its best move has been the signing of veteran point guard Jevon Carter, who just wrapped up a career season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The signing was so great that the Bleacher Report staff gave it an A grade.

“I love this deal.

“Getting a defense-first point guard in Patrick Beverley helped the Chicago Bulls finish stronly and make the play-in tournament in 2022-23. And Jevon Carter is a younger, more athletic version of Pat Bev.

“On a team with Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević, there isn’t a ton of need for playmaking from the 1. The Bulls just need Carter to set the front line on defense and space the floor for those three stars.

“For his career, Carter has a 39.7 3-point percentage. And in 2022-23, his defense ranked in the 88th percentile, according to Dunks and Threes’ estimated plus-minus,” they wrote.

Heading into the offseason, the Bulls had a massive hole at the point guard position, and now, they have a starting-level guard in Carter who can help lead them next season.

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Mock trade sees Bulls land James Harden, Tyrese Maxey from Sixers

In this trade idea, the Chicago Bulls would land two star players from the Philadelphia 76ers.

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The Chicago Bulls have been active this summer as they seek to compete for the postseason next year. They re-signed Nikola Vucevic and Coby White and brought in point guard Jevon Carter.

However, while they’re looking to compete, a rebuild could be what’s best for Chicago. Or, at the very least, they should look to shake things up. The current iteration of the roster isn’t good enough to guarantee a playoff spot.

Trading their two biggest stars, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, is crazy and completely unrealistic right now, but it could help them.

Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report raised the idea of a blockbuster move that would send LaVine and DeRozan to the Philadelphia 76ers for James Harden and Tyrese Maxey.

In an attempt to preserve the salary cap, the Sixers already opted not to extend Tyrese Maxey this summer although they reportedly remain invested in keeping him, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Would the team potentially sacrifice the future with Maxey to deal him in a package with Harden for two players like LaVine and DeRozan, who could come in and potentially help Joel Embiid get over the hump and compete for the Larry O’Brien trophy?

“It is an intriguing scenario if nothing else.

“The Bulls are in need of a rebuild, with uncertainty surrounding Lonzo Ball’s ability to play again following a serious knee injury and a roster that has been middling, at best. Injecting a little bit of new blood in it with Maxey, and veteran experience in Harden, would at least freshen things up, even if the likelihood of immediately competing in a loaded Eastern Conference is unlikely.

“LaVine has repeatedly been the subject of trade conversations in Chicago, and Harden clearly wants out of Philadelphia. The teams coming together and making a deal happen that takes both off each other’s hands while still being mutually beneficial is the best-case scenario.

“For the Sixers, specifically, who need to capitalize on having league MVP Embiid in his prime,” Beaston wrote.

It’s not going to happen, but that sort of trade idea is certainly an eyebrow-raiser.

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