Without a doubt in my mind, the Chicago Bulls shouldn’t think twice about pulling the plug and waiving guard Antonio Blakeney.
Reports are coming in that John Paxson and Gar Forman for the Chicago Bulls are looking to continue to shuffle the backcourt rotation around for the rest of the summer. Chicago Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson published in a piece on July 18 that the Bulls could have moves left to waive shooting guard Antonio Blakeney and still potentially trade point guard Kris Dunn.
Another move that the Bulls made on July 18 that will have an impact on the shape up of the roster for this coming season was the move to sign point guard Shaquille Harrison to a one-year deal. That one-year deal for Harrison also includes a no-trade clause, so he’s pretty much bound to the Bulls on this contract.
However, what Blakeney brought to the table for the Bulls last season a volume scorer that really did one thing well. Blakeney did shoot just shy of 40 percent from beyond the arc, but every other part of his stat line and production last season was not too impressive.
Blakeney posted just a 94 offensive rating last season. The defensive rating he had, at 116, was solid but came at the expense of other players around him. He does have the athleticism and length to excel on defense, but his -3.7 defensive box plus/minus showed off his real effectiveness on that end of the floor.
Bulls have discussed waiving Antonio Blakeney and have publicly disclosed they’re open to right Kris Dunn trade, which could be an uneven one. Don’t need to be at 15 contracts now but eventually. Kornet, official soon, would be 15. https://t.co/JPAQlYW89x
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 18, 2019
The move for the Bulls to waive Blakeney for the final year of his contract isn’t official yet. Johnson just reported that it is on the table along with a Dunn trade by the end of the summer. He is set to be paid $1.58 million through this year of his contract. Taking that player off the books and freeing up a roster spot is well worth the cost to waive him.
Essentially the replacement in the rotation for Blakeney could be Harrison. Both are very different players, but one is worth an NBA contract while another is not. Harrison was a bit of a surprise signing, but this could spell the end for Blakeney.
There are plenty of other options for the Bulls to explore in free agency to plug other rotational needs. Plugging a player that would be less valuable to the rotation for Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen would be difficult to find at this point.
If some other team takes a flier out on the volume and natural scorer, but also the inefficient player that is Blakeney, then it shouldn’t matter much to the Chicago Bulls. With the fact that the Bulls need more playing time for the other promising guards in this rotation and with a wing depth need still looming, Blakeney should go.