Out are the NBA Draft and the initial flurry of NBA Free Agency; in is the NBA 2k26 Summer League. The exhibition season officially kicks off on July 5, with the Salt Lake City and California Classic Summer Leagues, before the full, 30-team iteration begins in Las Vegas on July 10.
The Chicago Bulls will participate in the latter, with their first contest scheduled for July 11 against the Toronto Raptors at 7:00 p.m. CT. Bulls fans will get their first glimpse of 12th overall pick Noa Essengue, who will duke it out against another lottery pick, Collin Murray-Boyles.
The rest of Chicago's Summer League roster features some familiar faces, such as last year's 11th overall pick, Matas Buzelis; the 55th selection in this year's draft, Lachlan Olbrich; fellow two-way signees, Emanuel Miller and Jahmir Young; and a former lottery pick, Josh Primo.
Former 12th overall pick Josh Primo resurfaces on the Bulls
Of the bunch, Primo is the most interesting inclusion. The Alabama product was selected 12th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2021 NBA Draft. Primo was the youngest player in the association upon being drafted. He didn't turn 19 until Christmas Eve in 2021.
Primo appeared in 50 games, averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game for San Antonio. He began the 2022-23 season in an elevated role, playing 23.3 minutes per game before being waived mere days into the regular season because of a serious off-court matter.
A year later, he was suspended by the NBA, although he was legally cleared of any wrongdoing due to insufficient evidence. Primo then signed with the LA Clippers, appearing in only two games for the Clippers, primarily suiting up for LA's G-League affiliate at the time—the Ontario Clippers.
Primo averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 three-pointers per game in 30 appearances for Ontario. Prior to the end of the regular season, the Clippers waived Primo. Several months later, he wound up back on the NBA radar, signing with the Bulls in October 2024.
However, his time in Chicago was short-lived; Primo was waived a day later. He ended up joining the Windy City Bulls, but only played one game with the team, failing to record a statistic. It appeared his time in the NBA may have come to a close. All of a sudden, almost a year later, Primo has resurfaced.
He'll suit up for the Bulls' Summer League squad with his sights set on earning a two-way contract in Chicago, or elsewhere. While Primo's draft pedigree is likely no longer a selling point, he's still 22 years old. Thus, there's a belief that he can still contribute to an NBA team.
Primo has never tapped into his potential, from playing a rotational role at Alabama to only 56 games of NBA experience, there's no telling whether Primo has the makings of a rotational NBA player. Joining a relatively inexperienced Summer League squad (about as inexperienced as one can get), Primo will more than likely see ample playing time to make his presence known through the Bulls' five contests.