Some familiar faces could line the Chicago Bulls squad in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League in its likely return this year. Two names that appear to already be in the mix for the Bulls Summer League team this year are the former Vanderbilt Commodores big man Simi Shittu and former Florida State Seminoles forward Patrick Williams.
According to a report from Hoops Hype on July 27, Shittu is one of the early additions to the Bulls Summer League team. It is also expected that the reigning All-Rookie Second-Team selection Williams will also play for the Bulls in the Summer League.
Shittu has actually played pretty well in the G-League in the past two seasons. And he competed in the last round of Summer League for the Memphis Grizzlies, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019 offseason. In 13 games played with the Westchester Knicks in the G-League last season, Shittu averaged 14.5 points per game, 10.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks. And he shot 55.6 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 40.5 percent from the free-throw line.
There is some level of intrigue to the Bulls bringing back Shittu for this round of Summer League action. He consistently improved his game over the past two seasons in the G-League with the Knicks and Windy City Bulls.
Chicago Bulls running it back with Simi Shittu in Summer League
This will be the first time that Shittu could play for the Bulls in Summer League. But he did spend two preseasons/Training Camp runs with Chicago since 2018. He also played the 2019-20 G-League season, before it ended prematurely, with the Windy City Bulls.
In the four preseason games that Shittu did play with the Bulls in his career, he averaged 4.3 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 steals, and no blocks.
As the Summer League roster starts to form, there is some excitement building to have some type of a normal offseason back in the NBA. And the Bulls could really use the experience in the brief Summer League stint for some of their younger players.
The four game Summer League slate is set to begin for the Bulls on Aug. 9, against the New Orleans Pelicans. And this stint in the Summer League will take place through Aug. 15, when the Bulls round it all out against the Grizzlies.