Chicago Bulls: Potent free agent signing arrives in Zach Norvell

Another free agent signing arrived for Arturas Karnisovas and the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 26, with the former Laker and Warrior Zach Norvell.

A really interesting free agent signing surfaced for the Chicago Bulls and newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations on Nov. 26. The former Gonzaga Bulldogs 6-foot-5 and 205 pound shooting guard Zach Norvell signed a one-year contract (per ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski) on the afternoon of Nov. 26, moving the Bulls one step closer to rounding out the roster for Training Camp.

With Training Camp beginning around the NBA landscape on Dec. 1, the rosters are starting to come together for the 30 teams. And the Bulls are one of the teams that kept a pretty consistent roster since the end of their run last season.

But the Bulls two most recent free agent signings from the past 36 hours, Norvell and the former Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves big man Noah Vonleh, do bring a lot of intrigue to the table. Norvell never got a legitimate chance to develop or succeed in very brief stints last season with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.

Although he was projected out to be a early-to-mid second round draft by most last year, Norvell wound up falling as an undrafted free agent signing to the Lakers. He would be waived by the Lakers on Dec. 11, 2019. The Warriors then signed Norvell to a 10-day contract back in February, but he did not stick around through the offseason in the Bay Area.

In just five games played with the Warriors and Lakers last season, Norvell didn’t show a whole lot. He averaged 2.0 points per game, 1.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 0.4 steals. Norvell shot 25.0 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 100.0 percent from the free-throw line.

You can’t put a whole lot of stock in the per game stats that Norvell posted last season. He only got to play in five games, mostly with a bad Warriors team down the stretch. In his two years playing for Gonzaga (74 games), he averaged 13.8 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks. And Norvell shot 44.4 percent from the field, 37.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.6 percent from the free-throw line.

Norvell showed a lot of potential during his two years playing for the Zags. The Bulls just have to capture that promise from the Chicago native in the near future if they want this free agent signing to truly pay off.

Norvell could play at the two or the three for recently hired head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls. A lot depends on how he shows out in Training Camp, but there is potential with this signing by Karnisovas and the Bulls.