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Bundle the excitement of Christmas, your birthday, your wedding day, and the last six Chicago Bulls championships into one package of awesome and then try to imagine the antithesis of that and you’ll understand how most fans feel about the start of Bulls training camp today.
According to NBA.com, the Chicago Bulls will live stream their media day festivities from 2:30 to 4:30 on NBA.com and Facebook.
The Bulls are going to be really bad this year (which is actually a really good thing!), and it therefore could be a chore to watch them play (I don’t feel that way, but I’m sensing that that is the perspective of most Bulls fans). Nonetheless, let’s proceed with the customary media day/ training camp preview protocol.
Here is what the Bulls training camp roster looks like.
Kris Dunn (PG)
Dunn earned money as a child by challenging people to 1-on-1 basketball games. That really isn’t relevant to the beginning of training camp, but it’s a pretty cool anecdote.
Cristiano Felicio (C)
In June, BaB’s adopted son re-signed with the Bulls on a four-year, $32 million contract.
Jerian Grant (PG)
He told the Instagram world that he wants to be the Most Improved Player this season.
Justin Holiday (SG)
In probably the most fan-approved move of the Bulls offseason, Holiday returned on a two-year, $9 million contract after a season in NY
Robin Lopez (C)
Lauri Markkanen (PF; C)
There’s a life-size figurine of Lauri Markkanen in Helsinki. Except when I googled searched it nothing came up. Fake news?
Nikola Mirotic (PF)
After a long holdout, he signed a two-year, $27 million extension yesterday. The second year is a team option.
David Nwaba (SG)
July waiver claim by the Bulls. He is extremely athletic and draws most of his praise for his work on the defensive side of the ball. Vijay Vemu did a scouting report on him that can be read here.
Quincy Pondexter (SG)
Read this story about Pondexter and he’ll instantly become your favorite player on the team.
Bobby Portis (PF)
It’s prove it time for Portis, though somehow the Bulls have a logjam at power forward.
Diamond Stone (C)
The former Maryland standout signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Bulls 11 days ago. Once again, Vijay Vemu has the scoop on all things Diamond Stone.
Denzel Valentine (SG)
We found out this summer that there are two Denzel Valentines.
Paul Zipser (SF)
Dude got married this summer. Congratulations!
Injured Reserve:
Zach LaVine (ACL; return date unknown)
Cameron Payne (right foot fracture; will return 3-4 months after Sept. 8 surgery)
Two-Way Contracts:
For a quick refresher on how the new two-way contracts work in the NBA, please read SB Nation writer Tim Cato’s explanatory article.
Antonio Blakeney (SG)
After a scorching Las Vegas Summer League where he averaged 16.8 points per game on 43.8 percent from the field and shot 64.3 percent from 3-point land, the Bulls signed the former LSU Tiger to a two-way contract. He is a volume scorer who doesn’t excel at any other skill besides scoring. Vijay Vemu has your full analysis of his game.
Ryan Arcidiacono (PG)
This signing came as a bit of a surprise when it happened in July. Arcidiacono put up pedestrian numbers in Las Vegas Summer League play (5.8 points on 41.7 percent from the field, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game), and several of his teammates clearly outshone him. His strengths are his ability to run an offense and his high basketball IQ.
Training Camp Contracts:
Jarell Eddie (SG/SF)
Eddie went undrafted in 2014 and has been a 10-day contract/G-League journeyman since then. His greatest strength is his shooting and at 6-foot-7-inches he has good size on the wing.
Jaylen Johnson (PF)
The Louisville product went undrafted this summer. He is extremely raw offensively and most scouting reports cite his complete lack of a post game as a major red flag. However, he is athletic and can finish around the rim making him worth at least taking a chance on.
Those are your 2017-2018 Bulls. Who is pumped?