Chicago Bulls: 3 free agents the team was smart to avoid

Free agents the Chicago Bulls were wise to avoid: Devonte’ Graham

The lone name on this list that didn’t really look to be an actual target of the Bulls, but filled a position of need and was available, was the former Charlotte Hornets point guard and undrafted free agent signing Devonte’ Graham. This volume-scoring point guard is currently playing his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans after the Hornets shipped him off last offseason.

The ironic part to this is the fact that Graham actually helped the Bulls get Lonzo from the Pelicans in a way. After losing Lonzo to the Bulls, the Pelicans landed Graham in a deal with the Hornets. This likely helped the Pelicans with the decision to part ways with Lonzo knowing that they were getting another young point guard in return with some potential.

Graham is not the type of point guard that the Bulls needed during the offseason. He represents an idea that the Bulls would’ve created a logjam in the backcourt unit with younger volume-scoring guards that don’t fill the needs this team had. Graham has a similar skill set to that of third-year Bulls’ point guard Coby White. Having both Graham and White would make no sense for the Bulls.

While Graham wasn’t the perfect point guard for the Pelicans to get, knowing the needs they had to surround Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram with the proper supporting cast, he is a better fit there than in Chicago.

So far this season, Graham is averaging around 16 points per game, three rebounds, five rebounds, and one steal. And he’s shooting around 39 percent from the field, 36 percent from beyond the arc, and 77 percent from the free-throw line.

This looks to be a pretty typical year for Graham in terms of his production.