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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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