Talen Horton-Tucker, SG
One area that will clearly be a need to fill for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley this offseason will be in the shooting guard/wing rotation. The Bulls front office signed the fifth-year shooting guard/wing and 27-year-old Denzel Valentine to a one-year contract extension last offseason, and brought in veterans shooting guard Garrett Temple, to fill depth in this spot.
And while I’ve liked the addition of Temple this season, bringing Valentine back hasn’t worked out so well. Temple could be a potential player worth bringing back for at least one more year in Chicago, but Valentine likely should be hitting the unrestricted free agent market this offseason for the first time in his career.
A way that the Bulls could fill a need this offseason in their shooting guard/wing rotation would be adding young depth in the form of a player like the former Iowa State Cyclones 6-foot-4 and 235 pound shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker. The Lakers second-year two-guard is having a solid season in a limited role for head coach Frank Vogel so far this season.
Horton-Tucker is still just 20 years of age, and he is a Chicago native. The Bulls tend to like making that type of signing. But this one could carry more potential with it, as Horton-Tucker showed a promising ceiling this season. He’s stepped it up averaging nearly nine points per game, three rebounds, and three assists, in just under 20 minutes on the floor per game this season.
Set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, Horton-Tucker would be an interesting offer sheet for the Bulls to try and match.