The Chicago Bulls are in asset collection mode. After making a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans on Sept. 8, the Memphis Grizzlies have some assets to purge.
The Bulls should use that opportunity to take a flier on one of a group of young prospects Memphis is expected to cut in order to bring its roster down from 19 players to 15.
According to insider Jake Fischer, the Grizzlies will cut four of Walter Clayton Jr., Micah Peavy, Jordan Hawkins, D'Angelo Russell and Kris Murray.
Apart from Russell, no one in that group screams "must have!" for Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham. But there are a few interesting prospects who have yet to catch on in The League who are worth a look for a rebuilding franchise like Chicago.
The Bulls should take advantage of Grizzlies' roster dilemma
As an 11-year veteran who's on his last NBA legs, Russell is perhaps the most likely of that quintet to be released. The Bulls have no use for a 30-year-old backup point guard, so we can cross him off the list.
Peavy should be of interest to Chicago. A 6-foot-8, 220-pound wing, the 25-year-old was known for his defense during stops at Texas Tech, Georgetown and TCU, but entered the league with an emerging 3-point shot.
The Washington Wizards made Peavy the 40th pick in the 2025 draft before trading him to New Orleans, where he appeared in 61 games (four starts) and averaged 15.0 minutes per contest as a rookie.
Murray was the 23rd overall pick in the 2023 draft, but his career never took off despite playing on a rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers squad. He did play under new Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter, for whatever that's worth.
Hawkins was the most highly touted prospect of this group (outside of Russell, who was the second overall pick in 2015) and has subsequently been the most disappointing. The former UConn guard was a lottery pick in 2023 but never carved out a real role in NOLA.
But he was an All-Big East performer in his second season in Storrs and shot 38.8 percent from three on an average of 7.6 attempts, so the pedigree of a shooter is there.
Clayton should be of legitimate interest to Graham. The 23-year-old was a decorated college player who led the Florida Gators to a national championship in 2025. Clayton was the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four and a consensus First Team All-American after averaging 18.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
Clayton averaged 6.8 points and 3.2 assists across 69 games with the Jazz and Grizzlies last year. He averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 assists during his time in Memphis.
Between his stellar college career, experience and production as a rookie, he has the look of a high-level reserve point guard, something the Bulls could use moving forward.
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