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Windy City Roster Outlook: Power Forward

By Daniel Coughlin

Jul 10, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jack Cooley (54) dunks the ball during an NBA Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Thomas & Mack Center. Chicago won the game 83-70. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jack Cooley (54) dunks the ball during an NBA Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Thomas & Mack Center. Chicago won the game 83-70. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA is almost back! With that realization comes another – the inaugural Windy City Bulls season is also just around the corner and with it comes the Windy City roster.

There’s a little more time before the D-League gets underway, but last week we got started by guessing at some potential coaching options for the Bulls when the season starts in November. This week, we’ll be running through a look at some of the roster candidates for each position on the D-League roster.

Next: Top 10 Chicago Bulls Dunks

Power Forwards

Jack Cooley – Big Jack Cooley. The man, the myth, the haircut. Honestly, Cooley was popular with fans during the Las Vegas games for the Bulls, but his haircut was legendary. During one of the first Bulls games of the Vegas tournament, the direct comparison to Bryant Reeves was made. That’s about as high up the food chain as a guy like Cooley can go, really. Cooley has spent time on roster for the Jazz and Cavs. If you want to read about him, and you probably should, go check out our summer league profile on Jack.

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Jamal Jones – Jones played college ball at Texas A&M before joining the NBA D-League. Jamal played for the Delaware 87ers during the 2015-16 season. He averaged 5.4 points on 15.4 minutes per game. He played a total of 13 games for Delaware and started just one game. Jones did not feature for the 76ers during the summer league and was one of the last picks by the Bulls in the expansion draft during the 10th round. If Jones makes the Windy City roster, he doesn’t figure to be a primary option at the four.

Ralph Sampson – Sampson was the Bulls third pick in the D-League expansion draft. His rights were previously held by the Maine Red Claws. The obvious connection to make about Sampson is his famous relative, Ralph Sampson, who played with Hakeem Olajuwon. The younger Sampson played his college ball at Minnesota.

Sampson has played three seasons in the D-League already. He started with the Reno Bighorns in 2012-13 and later played two seasons with the Maine Red Claws. The 2014-15 season with Maine was the best for Sampson. His prospects aren’t particularly good, but the Bulls aren’t flush with options in the frontcourt right now and the dual versatility of Sampson could come in handy later in the year.

Johnny O’Bryant – O’Bryant was a second-round pick for the Milwaukee Bucks back in 2014.  The LSU product failed to develop during his time with the Bucks. Milwaukee waived O’Bryant in June and it might just be time for the young forward to get some time developing. Of course, we are talking about the NBA Developmental League. So, that makes this the perfect opportunity to get a good piece of the D-League roster.

O’Bryant played in 66 games for the Bucks last season, but he was a very poor scorer. He averaged just three points and 13 minutes per game. However, what little work O’Bryant got done was accomplished not just on limited minutes, but also on limited shots per game.

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