A busy week thus far for the Chicago Bulls since the end of the long holiday weekend mostly rounded up by the afternoon of Sep. 7. The Bulls had the contracts reported signings (per Bobby Marks of ESPN on Twitter) of the two big free agent additions from Sep. 6 released and two more signings came to the forefront.
The two big signings for the Bulls from the afternoon of Sep. 6 included the former Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons small forward Stanley Johnson and former Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers power forward Alize Johnson. After the signings of “Johnson & Johnson” to round out the holiday weekend, the 15-man roster could be essentially set for the Bulls heading into next season.
Following the conclusion of the 2021 NBA Draft, the Bulls signed the former Oregon State Beavers combo guard Ethan Thompson to an EXHIBIT-10 contract. He was reported to be joining the Bulls at least for Training Camp on a non-guaranteed contract.
And the other player that will reportedly be joining head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls in Training Camp, and likely much of the preseason, is the former Utah Jazz and Raptors 27-year-old shooting guard Matt Thomas. The former Iowa State Cyclone and Decatur, IL, native Thomas could be a nice underrated addition for the Bulls.
Chicago Bulls get an interesting signing ahead of camp in Matt Thomas
Contract info on the signings in Chicago:
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 7, 2021
Stanley Johnson, Ethan Thompson and Matt Thomas are non-guaranteed.
Alize Johnson has a $250K guarantee if no waivers by 10/19. His second year has a 7/2 guaranteed date.
13 guaranteed and 4 non
Thomas was a knockdown shooter for his first season and a half in the NBA when he played for the Raptors. But he started to struggle shooting from the field and from beyond the arc in 19 games played down the stretch last season with the Jazz.
In 67 career regular season games played with the Jazz, Thomas shot an impressive 45.7 percent from beyond the arc on eight attempts per 36 minutes.
Thomas was not a very good defender for either the Raptors or Jazz, but he didn’t turn the ball over much, rebounded well at the two-guard, and had decent court vision. He’s not a high-upside player, but that’s not the role he would be brought in to fill.
This could be an interesting battle brewing for the Bulls at the two-guard or on the wing. Thomas is essentially the complete opposite player compared to someone like Stanley Johnson. Fellow former Raptor and ex-lottery pick Johnson is not a good shooter, but he is a solid on-ball defender.
A best-case scenario for Thomas in Training Camp and the preseason would be getting that final two-way contract slot. The other two-way contract slot is held by the former Kansas Jayhawks second-year point guard Devon Dotson.
Training Camp is set to open up for the Bulls on Sep. 28. And then, the preseason slate is set to open up on Oct. 5 at home at the United Center against a divisional foe in the Cleveland Cavaliers and power forward Lauri Markkanen.