Bulls: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from 2023 NBA Summer League

After failing to secure a late comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth game of Summer League action, the Chicago Bulls have officially been eliminated from contending for the tournament’s championship. Looking good in several areas, and pretty awful in others, this Bulls team went 2-2 in their slate of exhibition games and has left us with plenty to digest in the coming weeks.

Now that the Bulls have been eliminated from the Summer League playoff chase, their fifth and final consolation game in Las Vegas has been scheduled for Saturday against the Wizards. This will be the last opportunity for several players on this roster to show out, so I expect to see a few more minutes allocated to the fringe and relatively unknown players on the roster.

As for the players most Bulls fans tuned in to see — primarily Dalen Terry and Chicago’s newly drafted pair of rookies — we’ve seen enough to draw quite a few conclusions. Some of these paint an optimistic picture, others… not so much. Let’s dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Chicago Bulls’ 2023 trip to Las Vegas.

The Good: Javon Freeman-Liberty looks primed to make a leap

Having already covered Javon Freeman-Liberty’s breakthrough Summer League performance extensively here at Pippen Ain’t Easy, you shouldn’t be surprised to see him here headlining the “Good” section. Averaging 20.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 4 rebounds per game, there was never any doubt that JFL was the Bulls’ best player in the Summer League.

On the back of his great efforts, the Bulls achieved a 2-2 record. Had the Bulls managed to close out a close game against the undefeated Cavaliers, they could have advanced to the Summer League playoffs to compete for their first championship since 2016. While that reality may have not come to fruition, at the very least we now know that Chicago has an incredible prospect on their hands with Freeman-Liberty.

The Bad: The rookies have shown promise, but aren’t NBA ready

Let me start this off by saying one thing, for a second-round pick and an undrafted free agent, I am thoroughly impressed with what we’ve seen from Julian Phillips and Adama Sanogo thus far. I believe there’s real potential here with each player, and the Bulls would be wise to keep them in the system to see how they develop for the time being.

Phillips looked particularly impressive against the Kings, where he chipped in 16 points and 4 rebounds while drilling all three of his long-range attempts. Meanwhile, Sanogo put on a show in that same game, posting 15 points, 9 rebounds (5 of which came on the offensive glass!), and a pair of steals and blocks each.

Despite how good this duo looked against Sacramento, they weren’t able to uphold it throughout the entirety of Summer League action like the aforementioned Freeman-Liberty did. In the very next game against Cleveland, Phillips shot 0-for-4 from deep while contributing only 2 rebounds and 0 assists in 26 minutes on the court. Sanogo, on the other hand, was rendered ineffective by the Raptors in a game where he shot 2-for-8 from the field and the lowest plus/minus of any Bulls player at -10.

There’s a lot here to be optimistic about with Phillips and Sanogo, but the Bulls can’t afford that level of inconsistency on the main roster right now. And due to how this team has been constructed thus far, the depth chart seems to indicate Phillips and perhaps even Sanogo will get a solid amount of run this year. That is not a good sign.

The Ugly: Dalen Terry looks borderline unplayable for Bulls

Entering this year’s Summer League, it was clear to see the front office was giving Dalen Terry the go-ahead to show out and display everything he has to offer. With no other young tenured players from the Bulls’ main roster on the team, Dalen became the de facto leader overnight. We saw this come into play right out the gate, as Terry attempted a team-high 35 shots in the first two games.

Unfortunately, the results were… not great. He’d convert on only 9 of those shots (25.7%), and things weren’t going to get any better for him in the next two games either.

To put it nicely, Dalen Terry was abysmal on the offensive side of the ball. Attacking the rim, shooting the three-ball, even converting free throws — you name the shot, and Terry struggled mightily with it. Despite playing relatively stout defense and showcasing an impressive playmaking vision, none of these things matter in the end if his horrendous offense offsets the things he is good at.

Perhaps therein lies the issue. The things Terry is good at, is not what the Bulls need. Chicago already has a surplus of primary ball handlers and perimeter defenders. What the Bulls need is a player that can space the floor and hit open threes, cut hard and attack the basket for easy looks, and switch onto bigger bodies on the wing to adequately defend the interior. None of these things are areas of strength for Terry, so it’s hard to write him off completely as a prospect, but it is becoming increasingly difficult envisioning him receiving minutes (or even finishing out his rookie contract) with the Bulls any time soon.