The Chicago Bulls caused a bit of a stir when they opted not to hang onto either of their second-round selections in the 2026 NBA Draft, moving off of both of their picks and even waiving Kam Jones—who was acquired with the 38th overall selection.
Bryson Graham defended the move by arguing for the upside of the team's undrafted free agents: Jaylin Sellers and Tobe Awaka. In Summer League, the duo mostly acquitted themselves.
Sellers, particularly, looked dynamic on both ends of the court, averaging 15.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while playing intense on-ball defense and displaying his lateral agility. He had his inefficiencies—shooting just 39.3% from the field across his five appearances—but there's certainly some immediate upside to be unlocked there on a two-way contract.
Awaka, for his part, was slightly more questionable. His rebounding skill set certainly conveyed to summer league play—he averaged 6.6 rebounds across his five appearances—but the limitations to his offensive game that ultimately allowed him to go undrafted were on full display.
While the temptation might be to keep Awaka with the varsity squad in his rookie season, Chicago therefore needs to give him as much opportunity as possible in the G-League if they want to see what he truly has left to be unlocked offensively.
Tobe Awaka needs to show some offensive upside if he wants to be a long-term piece in Chicago
There's a reason Awaka went undrafted. After four college seasons, he's largely a defined quantity.
He was a centerpiece of the Arizona Wildcats' elite defense during his final college season, and he was perhaps the best rebounder at that level by the time it was all said and done. He averaged just 9.3 points on 58.7% shooting from the field across 39 games, but he also averaged a whopping 9.1 rebounds— 3.5 of which came on the offensive glass.
At 6'8", Awaka likely doesn't have the size to play center at the NBA level outside of short, small-ball stints. That means that, if he's going to stick as an NBA player, he's going to need to develop more layers to his game offensively.
Right now, he's largely limited as an in-the-paint sort of scorer, using his size and strength to seal off his man and finish at or near the rim. In the modern NBA, a power forward simply can't function like that.
There's room to believe that Awaka has some minimal floor-spacing upside to be unlocked. He took a grand total of just 17 3-point attempts during his college tenure, but he sunk them at a rate of 41.2%. His free-throw percentage also climbed as high as 74.2% during his sophomore season at Tennessee.
With a relative logjam in the frontcourt, though, the Bulls can't afford to give Awaka significant minutes at the NBA level—at least not until some moves are made. Caleb Wilson will start at power forward, but Chicago also has Jalen Smith and Patrick Williams, both of whom will need to spend time at the position.
If Awaka can continue to develop his offensive game, perhaps there's a path there eventually. But Chicago needs to carefully monitor his development in the G-League as a rookie before that even becomes a possibility.
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