The Chicago Bulls Summer League roster doesn’t have a whole lot of NBA experience, but with a 2020 draft pick coming over from Europe, a former high school and college slam dunk champion and the first looks at this year’s pick Ayo Dosunmu, there’s definitely some intrigue this summer. Let’s take a look at this year’s Summer League roster.
F Patrick Williams
After averaging 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in his rookie season, Patrick Williams finally plays in his first Summer League. He’ll lead this team of young Bulls. I’d love to see Williams take on the leadership role in this short bit of games. Williams steadily gained confidence over his first NBA season and did it very efficiently; shooting 48.3% from the floor and 49.1% from three. The defensive end is where he excels and was very impressive in guarding opponent’s best players.
G Ayo Dosunmu
The Bulls only draft pick from 2021. Ayo led Illinois to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Big Ten Tournament Championship. He won the Bob Cousy award as the nation’s best college point guard last season. Dosunmu is never afraid to take the big shot and he’s a very solid in every aspect of the game, but doesn’t have anywhere that jumps off the page at you. He can be a bit too aggressive at times, I’ll look for him to improve his decision-making/turnover prevention and shot selection.
C Marko Simonovic
The Bulls took Simonovic with the 44th overall pick in the 2020 draft. The 6’11 Montenegrin played for Mega Basket in Serbia last season, where he averaged 15.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Simonovic has shown the ability to play in both the pick-and-roll game and the pick-and-pop game, and has the ability to knock down threes. We’ll get our first look at Simonovic in America in the Summer League.
G Devon Dotson
The former Jayhawk averaged 2.1 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 11 games with the Bulls last year. Dotson is on a two-way contract where he can play for both Chicago and Windy City (G-League). Dotson’s strengths are his defense and quickness. He’s shown the ability to be a really good on-ball defender. A couple weaknesses are that Dotson’s not all that big at 6’2, 185 and his offensive game lags behind. He’s not the best shooter, his playmaking can be inconsistent and ill-advised at times.
G Jaylen Adams
Adams scored just 2 points in 7 games for the Milwaukee Bucks last year before he was waived in March. The former St. Bonaventure guard averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 2019-20 with the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G-League. I’ll look for the former co-Atlantic-10 Player of the Year to not only be a playmaker, but also knock down 3-pointers consistently.
F Omari Spellman
Spellman was the final pick of the 1st round back in 2018 after winning the National Championship at Villanova. Over his first two seasons with the Hawks and Warriors, Spellman average 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Spellman can stretch the floor. He hit from at a 39.1% clip last year. Defense has always been the question with Spellman.
C Simi Shittu
A somewhat familiar face. Shittu has improved in his past two G-League season with the Windy City Bulls and Westchester Knicks since leaving Vanderbilt after just one season. He averaged 14.5 points and 10. rebounds per game last year in 13 games. He shot 55.6% from the field, 37.5% from three, and 40.5% from the free-throw line. Shittu is athletic, mobile and can create mismatches. He doesn’t have the biggest wingspan, which has hurt him inside and the shot has always been a work in progress, but there’s a lot of intrigue and Shittu has spent pre-season with the Bulls in in 2019.
F Tyler Bey
Played sparingly in 18 games for the Mavericks last season and also spent time in the G-League. Bey plays hard and is an above-average defender. Thanks to defending a ton of ball-screens in his time in College at Colorado, he is a plus ball-screen and help defender. His weakness are on offense. He is a below-average shooter, passer and ball-handler.
G Jerome Robinson
Played in 17 games for the Wizards last year. Averaged 4.9 points 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in those games. He’s spent time on both the Wizards and Clippers over his 3-year career and he got there with his shooting. Robinson’s crafty, but not the most explosive or quick. Still a decent athlete who’s been somewhat of a 3-and-D guy so far in his career. Played his college ball at Boston College from 2015 to 2018.
G Ethan Thompson
Thompson is an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State. He was part of that Beaver team who had the incredible run to the Elite 8 this past year. Thompson was an integral part of that offense; he scored in double figures in 28 of the Beavers 32 games this season. The 6’5 senior guard averaged 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He’s a solid playmaker and adequate scorer. His shooting is inconsistent and he’s not an elite athlete. He may struggle to rebound at the next level.
F Sterling Manley
Manley has battled injuries throughout his time at North Carolina and went undrafted after only playing in 59 games over his 3-year college career. He missed almost all of last season after knee surgery and has missed a lot of development time. Needless to say, he’s still very raw. He’s a 6’11 athletic body that defends the rim well, rebounds and can score around the rim. Not much of a face-up game and doesn’t have shooting range. Could be a defensive specialist.
F Troy Baxter Jr
Undrafted out of Morgan State, Troy Baxter Jr. was 1st-Team All-MEAC and on the All-MEAC Defensive Team. He also won the College Slam Dunk competition in Indianapolis. At 6’9, 215, Baxter Jr was dominant in the MEAC regular season. He scored 20 or more points six times, but did struggle to score in the MEAC Tournament. He obviously has some athleticism though, watch out at the rim!
G Ryan Daly
St. Joseph’s was a different team when Daly was on the floor last year. Unfortunately injuries limited Daly to just 10 games in his senior season. He averaged 18.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. and had two 30-point games. He used his big 6’5 frame to be one of the better rebounding guards in the A-10. Many scouts don’t think his game will translate to the NBA and see a future overseas.
The Bulls first Summer League game is August 9th.