Category: Chicago Bulls Blog

The Chicago Bulls waived guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, guard/forward Thomas Walkup and forward J.J. Avila today.

The players originally signed with Chicago as free agents on Sept. 26, 2016.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 15.

The Windy City Bulls, who are the Chicago Bulls’ D-League affiliate, have announced the remainder of their coaching and basketball operations staff as well as team medical personnel for the 2016-17 season.

Bobby Lutz and A.J. Guyton will join Nate Loenser’s staff in November as assistant coaches, while Josh Kreibich has been named coordinator of basketball operations.

“I am thrilled that Bobby and A.J. will be joining our staff for the upcoming season,” said Loenser. “Bobby brings a tremendous amount of coaching experience, and A.J. is someone who is very well respected within the Chicago Bulls organization. His experience playing here is invaluable to us.”

Lutz brings over 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to Windy City, spending the last five seasons as an assistant at North Carolina State. During his tenure with the Wolfpack, Lutz helped guide the team to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2015. Prior to his time at North Carolina State, Lutz spent a season as an assistant for Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State. From 1999-2010, he served as the head coach at the University of North Carolina Charlotte where he led the 49ers to three Conference USA titles while averaging more than 18 wins per season. Lutz was a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award in 2005 and is the school’s all-time winningest coach.

Guyton returns to the Chicago Bulls organization where he began his professional playing career in 2000.. The Peoria, Ill., native spent three seasons in the NBA before playing overseas for the remainder of his 10-year professional career. Guyton got his start in coaching in 2010 when he was an assistant coach at Illinois Central College. In 2012, he led the Bloomington Flex to the Premier Basketball League Championship as the team’s head coach. Guyton played college basketball at the University of Indiana Bloomington from 1996-2000 where he was a consensus First-Team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year in his senior season. In 2014, Guyton was inducted to the University of Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame.

Kreibich comes to Windy City after spending the last two seasons as the director of basketball operations at Northern Arizona University. Prior to his stint with the Lumberjacks, he served as an assistant coach at Concordia University in Austin, Texas, from 2012-2014.

Arnold Lee has been named certified athletic trainer while Dr. Adam Yanke and Dr. Jeremy Alland of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center will serve as team physicians. Additionally, Dr. Brian Cole and Dr. Kathleen Weber of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center will serve as consulting team physicians.

Lee joins Windy City after working as an intern for the Chicago Bears during the 2016 pre-season. From 2013-2016, he worked as the head athletic trainer at Chicago’s Kennedy King College. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Lee holds a B.S. in Kinesiology and a Masters in Athletic Training from California Baptist University.

The Windy City Bulls are preparing for their inaugural season in the heart of Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Beginning in November, the team will play 24 home games at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The NBA Development League, which is entering its 16th season, will expand to 22 teams for the 2016-17 season with the additions of the Windy City Bulls, Greensboro Swarm and Long Island Nets. Last season saw 32 D-League players called up to the NBA a total of 42 times.

The Bulls have signed free agents J.J. Avila, Vince Hunter, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Thomas Walkup to round out their 2016-17 training camp roster.

Avila (6-8, 250) played two seasons (2010-11, 2011-12) at Navy before transferring to Colorado State for his final two seasons (2013-14, 2014-15). He saw action in 115 games (103 starts) in his four-year career and posted 15.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.8 apg and 1.60 spg in 31.5 mpg. As a senior in 2014-15, he was the only player in NCAA Division I to average better than 16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.00 spg while shooting better than .550 from the floor.

Hunter (6-8, 200) appeared in 32 games for the Reno Bighorns during his rookie season and averaged 21.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 1.4 apg and 1.00 spg in 31.9 mpg. During his college career at UTEP, he played in 67 games and averaged 13.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.00 spg in 27.1 mpg.

Smith-Rivera (6-3, 215) appeared in 120 games with Georgetown and posted averages of 14.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.0 apg and 1.27 spg in 32.7 mpg. In his final season, he scored in double digits 28 times, 20-plus points eight times and 30-plus points twice, and was named Second Team All-Big East.

Walkup (6-4, 195) appeared in 135 games with Stephen F. Austin and posted 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.30 spg in 26.2 mpg. In his senior season, he averaged 18.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 4.5 apg and 2.09 spg en route to being named an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 19.

The Windy City Bulls, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, have announced Nate Loenser as the organization’s first head coach.

The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native brings over 15 years of coaching experience at the professional and collegiate levels, including stints with the Chicago Bulls, the University of Southern Mississippi and Iowa State University.

In 2015-16 with Chicago, Loenser served as the Video Coordinator for the Bulls. In that position, Loenser assisted and led on-floor skill development sessions with Bulls players and worked with Head Coach Fred Hoiberg and his staff to organize and present all scouting breakdowns for opponents and edits of practice and game video. He also updated and maintained the Bulls’ offensive and defensive playbooks.

While with Iowa State, he served as Director of Player Development and was a part of the coaching staff for two seasons in which the Cyclones won back-to-back Big 12 Conference Championships and made the NCAA Tournament twice, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2014. As Assistant Coach for six seasons at Southern Mississippi, which was coached by former National Coach of the Year Larry Eustachy, Loenser was responsible for all aspects of the basketball program, including recruiting, opponent scouting and on-court coaching.

“Nate’s work ethic and knowledge of our player development program make him a great fit to be the head coach of the Windy City Bulls. He has been involved in every aspect of basketball operations at both the collegiate and professional levels,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “The timing is perfect to apply his experience and skills in this new role.”

Loenser graduated from Iowa State and lives with his wife, Jackie, and daughter, Delaney.

Windy City also announced that Chicago Bulls Assistant General Manager Brian Hagen will serve as the NBADL franchise’s General Manager. Hagen will continue to serve as Chicago’s Assistant General Manager, a role he has maintained for the last four seasons. Prior to his time with the Bulls, he worked nine seasons for the New Orleans Hornets in multiple roles with the team’s Basketball Operations department. As General Manager of the Windy City Bulls, Hagen will oversee the team’s Basketball Operations department, including personnel, player development and D-League scouting.

Jeff Feld, a Denver native, has joined the organization as Windy City’s Manager of Basketball Operations after spending the previous four years with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a member of the basketball operations department, including serving as the Assistant General Manager for the Cavaliers’ NBADL team, the Canton Charge. The University of Arizona graduate began his career working under Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson and Sean Miller at Arizona.

The Windy City Bulls are preparing for their inaugural season in the heart of Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Beginning in November, the team will play 24 home games at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The NBADL, which is entering its 16th season, will expand to 22 teams for the 2016-17 season with the additions of the Windy City Bulls, Greensboro Swarm and Long Island Nets. Last season saw 32 D-League players called up to the NBA a total of 42 times.

The violence in Chicago is out of control. Or rather, continues to be out of control — because this isn’t new. But once again, a relative of Dwyane Wade is a victim. Here’s CSN Chicago reporting:

On Thursday, Dwyane Wade appeared on an ESPN special for The Undefeated to talk about gun violence. The next day, Wade’s cousin was shot and killed in Chicago.

Nykea Aldridge was pushing a baby stroller in the Chicago neighborhood of Parkway Gardens when she was shot and killed. Aldridge was 32 and a mother of four.

Police said she was not the intended target and one person was taken into custody as a result of the incident.

A lot of people say all the right things about violent crime, but clear, direct, honest solutions on how to reduce it aren’t quite so common. Just our opinion.

The Bulls have signed guard Isaiah Canaan (CAN-none).

“We are excited to add Isaiah to our group,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman. “We feel his ability to knock down perimeter shots will be an asset to our team.”

A three-year veteran of the NBA, Canaan (6-0, 201) comes to the Bulls after spending the bulk of the last two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has also played for the Houston Rockets (2013-15). Last season with the Sixers, he appeared in 77 games (39 starts) and averaged a career-high 11.0 points, 2.3 boards and 1.8 assists in 25.5 minutes, and he shot .360 from the field, .363 from downtown and .833 from the line. Known for his outside shooting, he shot 176-485 from three last season, and his 176 3-pointers made ranked 15th in the NBA. In 2015-16, he was one of 11 players in the NBA who made four or more threes in at least 20 games.

For his career, Canaan has played in 146 contests (60 starts) and posted 9.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 21.6 minutes, and he owns career-shooting averages of .368 from the field, .363 from behind the arc and .818 from the free throw line. The 25-year old product of Murray State was originally drafted by the Houston Rockets in the second round (No. 34 overall) of the 2013 NBA Draft.

The Bulls signed rookie guard Denzel Valentine today.

Valentine (6-6, 212) was selected by the Bulls in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft after playing four years of college basketball at Michigan State. In 2015-16, he posted 19.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 7.8 apg through 31 games for the Spartans – averages not achieved since the assist became an official stat in 1983-84. He also shot .462 from the field, .444 from beyond the arc and .853 from the free throw line.

After the 2015-16 season, Valentine became the first player in Michigan State history to be recognized as the National Player of the Year by The Associated Press. He also earned other player of the year awards from the NABC, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and Basketball Times in addition to being named a unanimous First-Team All-American after his senior season. For conference honors, Valentine added Big Ten Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten to his accolades last year. As a junior, he was named Third Team All-Big Ten, and was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as a sophomore. Valentine left Michigan State with career averages of 11.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 4.4 apg.

At the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Valentine has posted 11.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.50 spg in 27.3 mpg through four games.

The Bulls have signed second round draft pick Paul Zipser.

Zipser, a 6-8, 215-pound forward, was selected by the Bulls in the second round (No. 48 overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft, and he comes to Chicago after spending the better part of the last four seasons with FC Bayern Munich in Germany’s top league. In 2015-16, the 22-year-old Zipser appeared in 20 contests (EuroLeague and EuroCup combined) and posted 6.7 points, 3.6 boards and 1.3 assists in 17.9 minutes. He also shot .495 from the field, .378 from behind the arc and .958 from the line.

A native of Heidelberg, Germany, Zipser has also represented his country at the 2010 U16 European Championship, 2011 U18 European Championship and 2012 U18 European Championship. He owns career FIBA averages of 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds.