Bulls narrow roster down to 19 after waiving two players

While the NBA preseason is little more than a warm-up for the real action for us fans, it’s a different story altogether for the players. Fringe players all around the league are using these exhibition games as a chance to fight it out for a roster spot, and the Chicago Bulls are no exception here. Unfortunately, there’s not enough room for everyone aboard this ship as we prepare to embark on a new season-long voyage.

In an effort to trim the roster down to 18 players — a combined total of 15 players on the main roster and another 3 on two-way contracts — the Bulls officially announced their decision to waive Estonian forward Henri Drell and former UC Santa Barbara guard Max Heidegger. The Bulls now have 19 players on the roster, with only one cut left to make before the 2023-24 season kicks off.

Heidegger and Drell were unable to make much of an impact in the preseason, as the pair combined for just one point and one assist in a combined 10 minutes on the court. Despite being effective players overseas and in the G League, neither have been nearly impactful enough to justify occupying one of the Bulls’ full roster slots.

The Bulls only have one roster cut left to make after waiving Henri Drell and Max Heidegger.

Drell and Heidegger will now likely be given the chance to play for the Windy City Bulls in the G League, or perhaps explore potentially more lucrative offers overseas. They’re also likely to be joined by another player soon, as the Bulls are still above their maximum roster capacity limit and will have to make another cut before the season begins.

Here’s how the Chicago Bulls’ remaining roster shapes up:

• Lonzo Ball
• Onuralp Bitim
• Jevon Carter
• Alex Caruso
• Torrey Craig
• DeMar DeRozan
• Ayo Dosunmu
• Andre Drummond
• Quenton Jackson
• Carlik Jones
• Zach LaVine
• Justin Lewis
• Julian Phillips
• Adama Sanogo
• Terry Taylor
• Dalen Terry
• Nikola Vucevic
• Coby White
• Patrick Williams

Obviously, Chicago’s starting five will remain untouched, with Caruso, Drummond, Craig, Carter, and Drummond all set to play big roles off the bench. Dosunmu, Terry, and Phillips are all developmental pieces the team will want to hold onto, and Lonzo Ball isn’t going anywhere until he recuperates.

That leaves Jones and Taylor at risk of being cut from the main roster, as neither of their contracts are guaranteed until the season begins. Similarly, we could see Sanogo, Lewis, or Bitim released from their two-way contracts before the season begins. Jackson is the lone player remaining from those signed to training camp deals, and he’s managed to make a big impression in limited minutes thus far. If he can continue his high-flying antics, I wouldn’t be entirely shocked to see him steal a roster spot from one of the aforementioned players.

The Bulls’ next preseason game will be a rematch against the Nuggets on Thursday, October 12. This game should grant us further insight into what each of these players is capable of out there on the court. We can expect the final roster cut to take place by the time the preseason concludes.