Stud: Adama Sanogo
Up against a notoriously stiff Toronto defense, Adama Sanogo had quite a few highs and lows in his first game of Summer League action. After winning a national title with UCONN back in April, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised Sanogo was in need of a little time to adjust to the speed of NBA-caliber basketball.
I didn’t expect him to adjust quite this quickly, however, as Sanogo looked fantastic in just his second game against a very tough matchup in Memphis’ Kenny Lofton Jr. Scoring 8 points on 5 shots, Sanogo allowed the guards to assume most of the offensive load while dominating the boards with a game-high 12 rebounds, and one block and steal each. Sanogo had the highest plus/minus of any of the Bulls’ starters, outpacing even Freeman-Liberty despite a fantastic game from the DePaul guard as well.
If he manages to keep this up, the Bulls may have just found an undrafted steal and decent rotation player.
Adama Sanogo and Dalen Terry’s roles with the Bulls may be determined by their performance in Las Vegas.
Dud: Dalen Terry
Entering this year’s Summer League, Dalen Terry was given the reins and allowed to experiment with his game as much as he wanted. And so far, experiment he has… just not great success. Through each of the Bulls’ two games, Dalen has averaged 13.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, while shooting an absolutely horrendous 9-for-35 from the field (25.7%).
As much as I’m rooting for him to succeed, it would be foolish to say Terry’s been anything short of a net negative out there so far. What’s most strange, however, is that I don’t particularly care.
Plays like this are why I’m so high on Dalen Terry. He got the ball and immediately pushed it in transition. Always keeps his eyes up and he launched a bullet pass up the court for the easy layup. Lonzo Ball would be proud. pic.twitter.com/3B9MxGjmDd
— Hoops Supply (@HoopsSupply) July 8, 2023
As far as actual games go, Dalen will never have another chance to run the offense as the primary ball-handler again. Even if the results aren’t great, at least the coaching staff can successfully identify which areas of his game could use some work. Terry wasn’t drafted to be a floor general, but the fact he’s even willing to step into this role in the first place gives me faith he has the work ethic necessary to eventually carve out his niche as a very valuable role player for Chicago moving forward.