Chicago Bulls Confidential

Forgotten amongst all the fabulous fun of the frenzied free agency furore, there's some other things going on in the world of the Chicago Bulls. The Las Vegas Summer League started this week, and the Bulls are in it. And with such a sparse roster right now, there are plenty of places up for grabs on the Bulls regular season roster.

With that in mind, the Bulls have scored themselves a pretty good line-up of candidates. Here is the 2010 Bulls summer league roster, scored via a print-screen from Bulls.com's official announcement:

And here is a second print-screen, taken before the typo of Morris Almond's name was corrected.

To be honest, I think I preferred the typo of Trent Plaisted's college. Also note that in the re-release, Joe Alexander was not listed.

Let's look at those players in more detail.

Morris Almost:

Rather regrettably, Almond is one of only seven players all-time to have had the third year option on their rookie scale declined. (The six others: Patrick O'Bryant, Yaroslav Korolev, Julius Hodge, Shannon Brown, J.R. Giddens and our very own Joe Alexander. By the way, I do not know of why Alexander was removed from the updated, typo-free summer league roster. Might have been an oversight, or an injury.) Almond was drafted out of Rice as a big time scorer, and he still is one. Unfortunately, he's not gotten much else going for him.

Upon falling out of the NBA, Almond returned to the D-League, which he had torn up the two previous season while on assignment from the Utah Jazz. Split between the Springfield Armor and the Maine Red Claws, Almond averaged 24.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, shooting 51% from the field and 385 from three point range. Almond can absolutely score and shoot the ball, which should be pretty evident. However, he also does not like to pass it, recording only 1.7 assists per game alongside 3.1 turnovers. And while he has enough physical tools to play defense, he often won't.

Almond was bought out of his D-League contract at the end of the season to sign a seven figure contract with Real Madrid that runs through 2012. It looked like a real D-League success story. However, Almond averaged only 3.7 points for Real down the stretch run, and while no official word has yet been given, it is not expected that they will retain him.

Matt Bouldin:

Perhaps surprisingly, Bouldin went undrafted out of Gonzaga. He was definitely a valid draft candidate, but for some reason, the second round went a bit weird. Bouldin is a big strong off-guard who can occasionally play the point, armed with good passing skills, but without much athleticism. The curly haired one has a decent jumpshot, but not good enough of one to make it in the league as a shooting specialist, and his lack of speed (plus his rather average 6'5 size) deemed him a defensive liability at the NBA level. It also rather undermined his driving ability.

That said, most of that was also said about (possible) future Bull (possibly) J.J. Redick. And he turned out fine. As mentioned before, Bouldin does not have a jumpshot the calibre of JJ's; however, if he can get one, he might have a shot. (So to speak.)

Derrick Byars:

Byars was signed by the Bulls for training camp last season, and played pretty well in his preseason. He, and his perceived usage to the team, were the compelling subject of many an endless argument around here, arguments which crescendoed nicely when Byars made the regular season roster, before climaxing when he was waived 12 hours later. Good times.

After being waived, Byars went to Germany to play for Euroleague team ALBA Berlin. ALBA had already been eliminated from the Euroleague by the time Byars got there, yet he was there for most of their Bundesliga and Eurocup campaigns, where he came off the bench behind the three guard lineup of Rashad Wright, Julius Jenkins and Immy McElroy. Byars averaged 7.7 points on 39% three point shooting in 17mpg in the Eurocup, alongside 8.5 ppg on 36% 3PT in 20 mpg in the Bundesliga, with no other statistical contributions of note. ALBA were the Eurocup runners-up, blown out by 23 in the final to Spanish team Valencia, and were disappointgly knocked out in the first round of the German playoffs by Frankfurt.

(If you don't know what all those different competitions mean, but would like to, read this.)

Byars's good defensive play and solid outside jumpshot would have been good assets for the Bulls last season, but he did not make the team due to financial constraints. Nevertheless, there exists the same need for a player of his kind as before, particularly so if the offer sheet to J.J. Redick is matched. And this time, we have the financial flexibility to play him the minimum salary. It's a liberating feeling.

James Johnson:

Johnson's rookie season was a mixed bag. He demonstrated a variety of tools - surprisingly good help defense around the basket, athleticism despite his excessive size, the ability to lead the break, kung-fu fighting and breakdancing, and occasionally a jumpshot - but absolutely no ability to put those tools together. At times, he showed something; at other times, he was really really bad. He was not the recipient of consistent minutes, but nor did he show he deserved them. He was pretty much the polar opposite of Taj, who only does about five things well, but who does them well very consistently and who makes few mistakes. It wasn't pretty.

(Taj will not take part in summer league. He doesn't need to.)

We were hoping for Rodney Rogers out of JJ, but instead, we got Rodney White. He has plenty of time to turn it around, but with the signings of Kyle Korver and Carlos Boozer, forward minutes just got harder to find. If either Korver or Johnson can demonstrate the ability to defend the two guard spot at times, that might help, yet it's highly unlikely that either will do so.

John Lucas III:

Lucas went undrafted out of Oklahoma State back in 2005, but spent a couple of years with the Rockets. His NBA totals to date include 60 games, 490 minutes, 3.1 points and 0.8 assists per game, with career .396% field goal shooting and a 10.9 PER. Last year, Lucas played for the Shanghai Sharks in China - the CBA team part-owned by Yao Ming - where he averaged 27.9ppg, 4.9rpg, 4.7apg and 1.6spg, shooting 49% from the field and 45% from three point range. He also got into this lame fight. The Chinese Basketball Association standard is not very good; nevertheless, those numbers are.

Despite being only 5'11, Lucas is best as a three point shooter, and he has the speed and handle to get these shots off. For that reason - as well as the fact that we still need point guard depth - Lucas has a chance of making the roster. If he sounds like a lesser version of Jannero Pargo, then he is, and if that sounds like a bad thing considering the terrible year Jannero just put up, then maybe it is. But the Bulls still need shooting, and Lucas is a very good one.

Jack McClinton:

Like most of the guards on this list, McClinton is a good shooter. In fact, it's pretty much all he does. McClinton was drafted late in the second round last year by the Spurs, but rather uniquely asked to be released by the team so that he could join the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he thought he had a better chance of making the team. However, he didn't make it there either, and wound up playing in Turkey.

In 29 games there, J-Mac averaged 15.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, but did not shot well in doing so. McClinton shot 43% from two point range and only 32% from three point range, which wouldn't have been too bad if he didn't take 8 threes a game, more than he does two's. His 462 total points came on 418 shots, which is not good, and while he shot 84% from the free throw line, he only gets there three times a game. He's a 6'1 shooter, but a streaky shooter, and one who seemed to struggle with his shooting once he got out of the comparatively low standard confines of the ACC.

Hopefully, last season was just a blip.

Jerel McNeal:

McNeal went undrafted out of Marquette last year, so he went to summer league with the Kings and training camp with the Clippers. Making neither roster, McNeal went to Belgium to begin his playing career with Dexia Mons-Hainaut. In 14 Belgian league games with the team, McNeal averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 28 minutes per game, before being kicked off the team in March after testing positive for marijuana.

As first professional seasons go, being kicked out of Belgium is not the best. McNeal also didn't grow any, and remains a solid but unspectacular 6'3 shooting guard. He is a good defensive player, but he lacks an NBA shooting guard's size, and a shooting guard is most definitely what he is. McNeal is no half-court point guard, and while he can drive the ball and move well without it, he's a fairly average jumpshooter.

A.J. Ogilvy:

Ogilvy is the biggest player on the roster, and a decent entry-level imitation of Andrew Bogut. That comparison extends beyond their shared nationality; Ogilvy is a 6'11 post player and talented scorer, who also has the semblance of an outside jumpshot, one which he tends to use too much. Ogilvy has touch around the basket, hook shots, good footwork and a knack for getting to the foul line, and he even has quite a good dribble drive game for a 6'11 centre. He can't pass like Bogut, and turns it over too much, but he's a decent scorer nonetheless.

What Ogilvy doesn't have is Bogut's defense. Bogut has become a defensive anchor over the last few years, but Ogilvy is more of a defensive salad. He is not quick and does not like contact, fouling too much and not blocking much around the basket. He is either too slow or too weak for pretty much every match-up; it is for this reason that he tumbled out of the draft when he was once projected as a first rounder.

Ogilvy has already agreed to sign next year for Turkish team Besiktas. I guess he didn't think he was going to make it here. The Bulls need a backup centre, however, so he shouldn't say never.

Trent Plaisted:

Plaisted is the only member of this list to have his draft rights held by another NBA team. He is a former draft pick of the Pistons, who missed all but two games and 31 minutes before succumbing to a back injury. He returned this year and played for KK Zadar in Croatia, for whom he averaged 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in the powerhouse Adriatic League.

Why a man whose draft rights are held by another NBA team is on our summer league team is not immediately clear. It becomes especially muddied when you consider that Plaisted isn't even on the Pistons roster either. It is also unclear where the Bulls see him fitting on the roster, a 6'10 post player with good athleticism but not much size or strength, who can catch and finish around the basket but not play away from it, and who has struggled with injuries. Maybe they're just looking for the next Taj.

Chris Richard:

For some reason, the Bulls seem to really like Chris Richard. Despite four absolutely dreadful preseason games last year (salvaged by only one excellent one), and a career crippled with injuries and mediocre production, the Bulls repeatedly brought Richard back throughout the season, and even signed him through 2011. He was waived at the start of this month along with Rob Kurz to open up more cap space; that does not necessarily mean, however, that he's not coming back.

(Speaking of Kurz, apparently he's sick of us. He's on the Lakers's summer league roster instead. Bye, Rob.)

Richard can't score, is an average rebounder and defends via the foul. Yet because of their love for him, and our need for at least one more insurance big man, Richard is a valid candidate to make the team. Again. (In his defense, we broke camp last year with both Lindsey Hunter and Jerome James on the team. We've come a long way.)

Samardo Samuels:

Samuels looks like a fat Michael Redd, but could not play much more differently. He's an unathletic 6'8, but he's an out-and-out post player, with great hands, decent touch and solid footwork, as well as incredibly well disciplined interior defense. He has no perimeter game on either end, and will suffer from a distinct height and athleticism disadvantage at the NBA level, yet these do not change his skill level. It's pretty high.

Sammy Samuels did not get drafted out of Louisville, partly because of his lack of athleticism, partly because he shouldn't have declared in the first place, and partly because he's just not a good defensive rebounder; for these reasons, he probably won't make a roster as an undrafted free agent either. But his body type is not especially different to that of Chris Richard, and Samuels is considerably more skilled than he is. So he has a chance.