August 14, 2018
BULLS SIGN DERRICK WALTON JR.
The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Derrick Walton Jr. Walton (6-1, 189) was undrafted in 2017, but signed with the Miami Heat on a Two-Way contract on July 24, 2017. In the 2017-18 season, he played in 16 games for the Heat and averaged 1.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9.2 minutes per game. Walton posted a season-high seven points and five assists in a win against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 22, 2017. During his time in the NBA G League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Walton started in all 27 games in which he played, and he posted 16.1 points, 7.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.48 steals in 32.4 minutes per game.
The Detroit native played four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he holds career averages of 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.15 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. Walton is the only player in Wolverine history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in his career. As a senior in 2016-17, he was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and the Big Ten Tournament Most Valuable Player.
July 31, 2018
BULLS RE-SIGN ARCIDIACONO
The Chicago Bulls have re-signed free agent guard Ryan Arcidiacono (ar-chee-dee-ACK-uh-no). In his rookie season, Arcidiacono (6-3, 208) appeared in 25 games for Chicago and averaged 2.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 12.7 minutes per contest, and shot .415 from the field and .833 from the foul line. In G League action, he appeared in 37 games (all starts) for the Windy City Bulls and averaged 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.73 steals in 39.5 minutes per game, and shot .457 from the field, .451 from three and .833 from the foul line.
Arcidiacono was a member of the 2018 Chicago Bulls MGM Resorts Summer League squad, and he averaged 7.2 points, 4.2 rebounds 4.0 assists and 1.20 steals in 30.8 minutes per game. He shot .394 from the field and .476 from three. Arcidiacono played four seasons at Villanova and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the Wildcats’ championship run in 2016. He went undrafted in 2016, and appeared in three preseason games for the San Antonio Spurs and eight games for the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League that season.
July 25, 2018
BULLS SIGN ALKINS TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT
The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Rawle Alkins (RAW-lee ALL-kins) to a Two-Way contract. Alkins (6-5, 220), who went undrafted in 2018, played two seasons at Arizona. He was named a Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention his sophomore season and was also a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member in 2016-17. In his career at Arizona, he averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 60 games (57 starts) with the Wildcats, scoring a career-high 26 points in a win at New Mexico (12/16/17), on 9-of-11 shooting (.818), including a 3-3 mark from the 3-point line.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., native appeared in six games (4 starts) for the Toronto Raptors MGM Resorts Summer League squad this year and averaged 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.33 steals in 21.3 minutes per contest. Alkins will wear No. 20 for the Bulls.
July 23, 2018
BULLS CLAIM CLEVELAND
The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has claimed guard Antonius Cleveland off waivers. Cleveland (6-6, 195) was waived by the Atlanta Hawks on July 21. He appeared in four games for the Hawks last season and averaged 3.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game. Cleveland signed a multi-year contract with Atlanta on March 14 after signing consecutive 10-day contracts on Feb. 22 and March 2. Earlier in the 2017-18 season, Cleveland had a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks where he appeared in 13 games. He also saw action in seven NBA G League games and averaged 13.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.71 steals in 26.4 minutes per game.
The Memphis native played four years at Southeast Missouri State University where he posted career averages of 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.31 steals in 28.8 minutes per game.
July 14, 2018
BULLS SIGN JABARI PARKER
The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has signed forward Jabari Parker. A Chicago native, Parker (6-8, 250) was selected second overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2014 NBA Draft and has played all four seasons in Milwaukee. During his tenure with the Bucks, Parker appeared in 183 games and averaged 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.00 steals in 30.7 minutes per game and shot .490 from the field, .352 from downtown and .747 from the free throw line.
“Jabari is a 23-year-old player who is a natural fit with our young core, and is a proven scorer at the NBA level. We look forward to welcoming him back to his hometown,” said Gar Forman, Chicago Bulls General Manager. The Bulls also announced the release of guard Julyan Stone and forward Paul Zipser.
July 19, 2018
BULLS SIGN ANTONIO BLAKENEY
The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Antonio Blakeney to an NBA contract. Blakeney (6-4, 197) went undrafted out of LSU in 2017 but was tabbed for the Bulls MGM Resorts Summer League roster last year. After leading that squad with 16.8 points per game, he earned a Two-Way contract from Chicago. In 2017-18, he was named the NBA G League Rookie of the Year after averaging 32.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.22 steals per game for the Windy City Bulls. With the NBA Bulls, Blakeney averaged 7.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16.5 minutes through 19 games. In this year’s Summer League action, Blakeney again led the team with 21.0 points per game, along with averaging 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in five games.
July 8, 2018
BULLS RETAIN LAVINE
The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has exercised its right of first refusal and matched the offer sheet extended to guard Zach LaVine by the Sacramento Kings. LaVine came to the Bulls ahead of the 2017-18 season through a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Draft-night deal that also included Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft (Lauri Markkanen) in exchange for Jimmy Butler and the No. 16 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft (Justin Patton).
“We were excited last summer when we got a dynamic athlete in Zach LaVine through the trade, and we’re excited now that we get to keep him,” said John Paxson, Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. “Zach showed a relentless work ethic in rehabbing his ACL injury to return to the court, and he has a visible passion for the game of basketball. We know that those attributes, along with his honed skills, will make him an impact player in this league for years to come. We’re thrilled to keep Zach on this Bulls team moving forward.”
After recovering from an ACL injury, LaVine made his Bulls debut on Jan. 13, 2018, vs. Detroit. He played in 24 games (24 starts) last season and averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.00 steals in 27.3 minutes per game. LaVine led the Bulls in scoring in eight games and had 11 outings of 20-plus points. He scored in double digits in 10 games in a row from Jan. 31 through March 2, and became the seventh player in NBA history to record at least 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes or less vs. Miami on Jan. 15.
Originally selected 13th overall by Minnesota in the 2014 NBA Draft, LaVine owns career averages of 14.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 28.7 minutes per game. He was named to the 2015 All-Rookie Second Team and was a two-time participant in the Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend in 2015 and 2016. He was named MVP of the game in 2016. LaVine is also a two-time Slam Dunk Champion (2015 and 2016).
July 3, 2018
BULLS SIGN CARTER JR. AND HUTCHISON
The Chicago Bulls have signed 2018 No. 7 selection Wendell Carter Jr. and No. 22 selection Chandler Hutchison. Carter Jr. (6-10, 259) played in 37 games (37 starts) for the Duke Blue Devils in 2017-18 and averaged 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.05 blocks. He was only the sixth Blue Devil to shoot better than .500 from the field (.561), .400 from 3-point range (.413) and .700 at the free throw line (.738). Carter Jr. notched one of the best rookie seasons by a big man in Duke history, finishing second all-time among Blue Devil freshman in rebounds (335), blocked shots (76) and double-doubles (16). He was a second-team All-ACC selection, a unanimous pick to the ACC All-Freshman Team, earned NABC All-District recognition, was named ACC Rookie of the Week three times (11/20, 12/26, 2/26) and was a finalist for the Karl Malone Award. Carter Jr. won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championship, where he also made the all-tournament team, and was selected for the 2016 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamp.
Hutchison (6-7, 197) played in 31 games (31 starts) and averaged 20.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.48 steals, making him the first player in Boise State history to lead a team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He finished his Broncos career with 1,478 points and 672 rebounds, putting him ninth and sixth in Boise State program history, respectively. Hutchison also finished his career tied for the most wins (87) in program history. He was named the Mountain West Player of the Year (media) in his senior season, All-Mountain West First Team (media and coaches), to the Mountain West All-Defensive Team, USBWA All-District VIII, the NABC All-District 17 First Team, and was the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week on Jan. 15, 2018. Hutchison recorded the first known triple-double in Boise State men’s basketball history with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Portland (12/1), and he set the single-game scoring school record with 44 points against San Diego State (1/13).
