On the afternoon of Sep. 6, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley brought in an interesting addition to the rotation for the Chicago Bulls. Karnisovas and the Bulls signed the former Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons small forward Stanley Johnson to round out the long holiday weekend.
This will fill the 14th roster spot for the Bulls and head coach Billy Donovan ahead of the start of Training Camp and the preseason. Now, Karnisovas and the Bulls will have one spot on the 15-man roster open and one of the two-way contract slots.
The other two-way contract slot will be filled heading into next season by second-year point guard Devon Dotson. The front office will still be seeking out an option to fill the second two-way contract slot in the coming weeks.
Who is still out there that would be better for the Chicago Bulls than Stanley Johnson?
Moreover, the details of the contract that Johnson and the Bulls agreed to this week have yet to be announced. But this is likely something for the Bulls to give more defensive help on the wing heading into next season for Donovan and this staff.
But there are question marks that emerge from this signing of Johnson. It doesn’t directly address most of the positional/rotational needs that Donovan and the Bulls have heading into next season. The Bulls still have a depth need at the four and could use more veterans in the rotation.
With all of this in mind, here’s a look into three players that Karnisovas and the Bulls should’ve (and can still) sign instead of Johnson.