Chicago Bulls: Alfonzo McKinnie emerges as potential wing target again

Without making a trade where the Chicago Bulls might have to give up a valuable asset, they might be able to hit free agency to add wing depth.

Definitely the biggest positional need for head coach Jim Boylen and the Chicago Bulls at this point of the regular season is on the wing. A bevy of injury troubles on the wing this season to the Bulls top two small forwards, Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison, caused Boylen to have to try a bunch of different looks at that spot in his rotations.

Granted, with the recent sprained ankle injury to the Bulls second-year center Wendell Carter Jr., the frontcourt depth isn’t looking too great either. The Bulls are likely to now be rolling with either rookie big man Daniel Gafford or veteran forward Thaddeus Young in the starting five in the absence of WCJ at the five.

But if the Bulls are able to fill their depth need on the wing ahead of the trade deadline and All-Star Weekend, then the lack of depth in the frontcourt could be masked a bit.

And with all the players that were on two-way contracts or non-guaranteed deals hitting the free agent market at the moment, the Bulls could go snag themselves an underrated wing. Since the Bulls get really thin on the wing when looking at the deeper part of the 15-man roster or with the G-League affiliate Windy City Bulls, landing a depth piece this month would be a good move.

Even one of the two players the Bulls had signed to a two-way contract this year, 6-foot-6 shooting guard Max Strus, is out for the season with a lower-body injury. Strus was likely the first option Boylen and the Bulls would look to if they had to pull from their two-way contracted players or the G-League to fill out the rotation at that spot.

A key name to dig deeper on for the Bulls in the midst of all these players hitting waivers right now is the former Golden State Warriors 6-foot-7 small forward and NBA Title runner-up Alfonzo McKinnie.

According to a press release from NBA.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers waived McKinnie on Jan. 6 in order to make room for the signing of Levi Randolph. The Cavaliers do still have the option of signing McKinnie to a more favorable team deal, but he also just cleared waivers and could be an option for the Bulls to look into.

In 23 games played with the Cavaliers this season, McKinnie averaged 2.7 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.2 assists, while shooting 35.3 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. This isn’t the most efficient production that ever came from McKinnie, but he does have a two-way ability on the wing that is hard to find.

If the Bulls could get the version of McKinnie that showed up in the two seasons previous to 2019-20, that showed up with the Warriors or Toronto Raptors, then it could be a good find that could add a lot of valuable depth to the wing portion of the rotation. Boylen needs more lengthy wings that can play on both ends of the floor, like McKinnie, so he would be a good fit deeper down the bench.