Category: Chicago Bulls Blog

The Chicago Bulls have signed free agents Kaiser Gates and JaKarr Sampson to round out their 2018-19 training camp roster.

Gates (6-8, 227) played in three games on the Bulls’ 2018 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League team, averaging 6.7 points per game. Prior to his Summer League experience, Gates played three seasons at Xavier (2015-18), appearing in in 97 games (22 starts). He finished his career with an average of 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Gates’ statistical averages improved in each season at Xavier, averaging 7.2 points, 4.6 rebounds per game and scoring in double figures in 11 games in his final season. As a junior in 2017-18, his .378 shooting percentage from behind the arc ranked second on the Big East-champion Musketeers.

Sampson (6-9, 214) enters his fourth season in the NBA with career averages of 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 169 contests (78 starts). Sampson comes to Chicago after spending the 2017-18 season with the Sacramento Kings as a Two-Way player. He played in 22 games (6 starts) and averaged 4.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.00 blocks per game in 15.6 minutes per contest for the Kings. During his time in the G League, he played in 35 games (33 starts) for the Reno Bighorns. With Reno, Sampson put up averages of 17.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.06 steals in 28.7 minutes per game. A native of Cleveland, Sampson spent his first two NBA seasons with the 76ers and Nuggets after being named the 2013 Big East Rookie of the Year.

Bulls center Omer Asik is out indefinitely with inflammatory arthritis that flared up over the summer. He has been receiving ongoing medical treatment and management, but his return to basketball activities is yet to be determined.

Asik came to the Bulls in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 1, 2018. He also played for Chicago in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 NBA seasons. He has career averages of 2.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 152 games for the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls have promoted Brian Hagen to Associate General Manager, Steve Weinman to Assistant General Manager, Jim Paxson to Director of Pro Personnel and Miles Abbett to Manager of Minor League Scouting and Analytics.

Hagen is entering his seventh season with the Bulls, as he spent the last six seasons as Assistant General Manager and third as General Manager of the Windy City Bulls. Before joining the Bulls, he spent nine seasons in basketball operations with the New Orleans Hornets, most recently as the team’s Director of Player Personnel. In that role, he was responsible for coordinating the team’s amateur and professional scouting operations and assisted in the evaluation of free agents and prospective trade acquisitions. While with the Hornets, he also spent time as the team’s video coordinator, Director of Basketball Operations, Director of Scouting and Assistant to the General Manager.

Weinman, set to begin his seventh year with the Bulls, was previously the team’s Manager of Basketball Operations and Analytics, after spending two years working for the NBA. In his new role, Weinman will continue to manage the team’s salary cap and oversee the organization’s planning for future initiatives, while remaining the team’s lead for all basketball analytics efforts. Weinman will also shift his focus toward pro scouting and draft personnel.

Paxson will begin his 13th season with the Bulls and has spent the last 12 seasons serving as the Director of Basketball Operations. Prior to Chicago, he spent seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, first as Vice President of Basketball Operations (1998-99), and then as President and General Manager of the club (1999-2005). Paxson also served as Assistant General Manager of the Portland Trail Blazers for three seasons (1995-98), as well as Offensive Skills Coach during the 1993-94 season. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 1984.

Abbett, about to embark on his fifth season with the Bulls, formerly served as the team’s Basketball Operations Coordinator. He will now build upon his analytical contributions for the organization, while also focusing on scouting the G League and international professional leagues.

The Chicago Bulls have signed guard Derrick Walton Jr., presumably just to their training camp roster.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “the Bulls have 14 guaranteed contracts, including two point guards in starter Kris Dunn and backup Cameron Payne. Ryan Arcidiacono, who split time between the Bulls and the G League on a two-way contract last season, also signed to battle for a roster spot in training camp.”

According to the Detroit News, “Walton, 23, faces long odds and could be left battling for a two-way contract with guard Antonius Cleveland and Arcidiacono, with Chicago’s other two-way deal already taken by guard Rawle Alkins.

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.

The Chicago Bulls re-signed free agent Ryan Arcidiacono today.

In his rookie season, Arcidiacono, a 6-foot-3, 208-pound guard, 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.

The Chicago Bulls signed guard Rawle Alkins to a two-way contract today.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound native of Brooklyn, New York went undrafted in 2018 after playing two seasons of college hoops at Arizona. He was named a Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention in his sophomore season, and was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member in 2016-17.

Overall, in his career at Arizona, he averaged a modest 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 60 games (57 starts) with the Wildcats. He scored a career-high 26 points in a win at New Mexico on 12/16/17.

Alkins, whose full name is pronounced “RAW-lee ALL-kins,” played 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.

He will wear No. 20 for the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls claimed guard Antonius Cleveland off waivers today.

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.

The Chicago Bulls on Thursday signed guard Antonio Blakeney.

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.