3 Free agents the Bulls should still consider signing a month into the season

3 Free agents the Bulls should still consider signing a month into the season.

The Chicago Bulls still have themselves stuck in NBA purgatory: Win games, but not too many. Showcase the veteran trade chips, but make sure the young players are still developing.

 

That’s borne out in the Eastern Conference standings heading into the week of Nov. 25. Chicago sits 10th, conveniently clinging onto the final play-in spot while also barely clinging to their first-round pick that will head to San Antonio if it lands outside the top 10.

It’s a familiar situation for Bulls fans.

 

The view outside the organization is that the team should be tanking for the highest draft spot possible; the view inside is clearly different. It’s a dangerous line to toe.

 

Chicago currently has a full roster with 15 players on standard NBA contracts and three on two-way deals, but its spot in the standings and/or draft lottery shouldn’t be an obstacle to tinkering with the end of the bench.

Here are three players who, as of Nov. 25, are free agents the Bulls could sign who would be intriguing pieces to develop without ruining that always-important chance at a play-in game.

 

3 Current NBA free agents the Chicago Bulls should consider signing

Right now, the Bulls’ trio of two-way players consists of center Adama Sanogo, forward EJ Liddell and guard DJ Steward.

Sanogo and Liddell have seen limited action at the NBA level, while Steward has spent all of his time with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League affiliate.

 

A case can be made that all three are worth keeping around and developing. But so are these prospects.

 

Wing Jalen McDaniels, Capital City Go-Go (G League)

The Bulls could add McDaniels to a 10-day contract or even the 15-man roster, given his previous NBA production.

A 6-foot-9 wing with a 7-foot wingspan and above-average athleticism, McDaniels has shown glimpses of becoming a serviceable 3-and-D wing – only more “D” than “3”.

 

McDaniels has never been a high-volume shooter from deep, but he hit 37.5 percent of 1.5 attempts per game as a rookie with the Charlotte Hornets, 38.0 percent on 2.0 attempts in 2021-22 and 40.0 percent on 1.3 attempts during his 24 games with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022-23.

 

He’s collected 164 steals and 84 blocks across his 248 NBA games and has the length and athleticism to be a solid rotation player as a defensive specialist, something the Bulls sorely need.

A 6-foot-9 wing with a 7-foot wingspan and above-average athleticism, McDaniels has shown glimpses of becoming a serviceable 3-and-D wing – only more “D” than “3”.

 

McDaniels has never been a high-volume shooter from deep, but he hit 37.5 percent of 1.5 attempts per game as a rookie with the Charlotte Hornets, 38.0 percent on 2.0 attempts in 2021-22 and 40.0 percent on 1.3 attempts during his 24 games with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022-23.

 

He’s collected 164 steals and 84 blocks across his 248 NBA games and has the length and athleticism to be a solid rotation player as a defensive specialist, something the Bulls sorely need.

Guard James Bouknight, Rip City Remix (G League)

Bouknight currently plies his trade with the Portland Trail Blazers’ G League affiliate, but any NBA team can call up any G League player at any given time.

 

Perhaps its worth taking a flier on Bouknight, the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft.

The 6-foot-4 guard only played 79 games during his three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. His best statistical year was 2022-23, when he averaged 15.1 minutes per game in 34 contests and scored 5.6 points per.

 

He’s still only 24, though, and has begun to round out his game after entering the league because of his scoring potential.

 

In six games with the Remix, Bouknight is averaging 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He’s still inefficient with shooting splits of 42/24/75, but if and when Chicago trades Zach LaVine, it’s worth taking a flier on Bouknight as a combo guard when the team presumably tanks toward the end of the season. Maybe.

F Pete Nance, Cleveland Charge (G League)

Nance entered the league with the potential to become a stretch big. In his final year at Northwestern before transferring to North Carolina and playing as a fifth-year senior, the 6-foot-10 forward shot 45.2 percent from three.

 

He wasn’t that efficient as a shooter during his lone season in the ACC and hasn’t displayed it during his time in the G League thus far, but the ability is there.

His solid if unspectacular shooting splits of 51/34/71 in 16 games with the Cleveland Charge last season, coupled with his 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, flash that stretch big potential.

 

He’s averaging nearly 20 points and 2.0 blocks a night in increased minutes this season. Considering his solid athleticism, rim protection and ability to act as a 3-point threat, Nance would be worth bringing in as an ideal fit for head coach Billy Donovan’s new up-tempo, heavy 3-point shooting offense.