Bulls Make a Very Bulls Move, Terry Taylor’s Skillset, Lacking Size, and Other Bulls Bullets

I have absolutely nothing against Terry Taylor. If anything, I like that he adds some youth and physicality to this roster. With that made clear …. yesterday afternoon’s news felt like the most Chicago Bulls news ever.

  • Instead of adding traditional size or another shooter or a win-now veteran, the Chicago Bulls seemingly settled for one of the cheapest and most familiar options. Terry Taylor joined the organization on a two-way deal midway through last season after Indiana waived him. He appeared in only five games for the Bulls, remaining on the free-agent market for well over a month. The Bulls have now signed the 23-year-old to one of their final full-time roster spots. With such limited NBA experience and presumably a shortage of suitors, Chicago surely got to add Taylor to a flexible and inexpensive deal.
  • Now, the Bulls are in a perfect place to, once again, dodge the luxury tax. Carlik Jones’ contract has yet to become fully guaranteed, and I’d guess that Chicago does opt to let the six-foot-one guard walk before the start of the regular season. It’s very possible they then enter the 2023-24 season with just 14 of 15 full-time slots filled to keep from paying that dreaded tax bill. It’s preposterous to think the third-largest market in the NBA would pay a little extra!
  • Look, as I’ve said many times before, I get that a team shouldn’t just pay the tax to pay the tax. But I also can’t believe that the franchise is truly willing to do it until I see them do it. Arturas Karnisovas can claim that he has the full support of ownership to open up the checkbook all he wants. Moves like this, however, continue to make that hard to believe, particularly when we remember that the organization continues to preach a desire to compete.
  • Anyway, when we get a better idea of what Terry Taylor’s contract looks like, I’ll do a fresh post on the team’s cap sheet. In the meantime, here’s the one I did a few weeks back …
  • Putting aside my inner negative Nancy, I guess at least Terry Taylor gives the Chicago Bulls another developmental piece. It’s not like he isn’t an intriguing talent. As limited as his playing time has been at the NBA level, he’s at least looked the part when out there. He’s got a massive 230-pound frame that allows him to hold his own in the frontcourt. While he’s bigger than Javonte Green and not as explosive athletically (still has a good bounce, though), he should provide a similarly high motor and a strong effort on the glass. Also, he’s shown the potential to be a serviceable shooter in the G-League, where he’s dominated every chance he’s gotten.
  • He just feels like one of those types who could end up on Billy Donovan’s good side this season. Like, if one guy gets injured, I could see him edging out both Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips for minutes simply because of the flashes he’s shown in the past. Do I love the thought of that? Eh, I want Terry and Phillips to get a chance to learn with some in-game reps, but at least Taylor is another young player with room to grow. If it was, like, Garrett Temple, I’d be more frustrated.
  • If Arutras Karnisovas was having himself a night out and saw an undersized power forward across the bar, he’d go weak in the knees. Despite the team’s clear need for traditional size and length, the Bulls settled on Taylor, who stands just six-foot-four. Again, he at least has enough meat on his bones to compete inside, but he isn’t adding much height to this team. BBall Index mapped out each team’s defensive rebounding talent compared to their size. Fortunately, the Bulls are at least a solid defensive-rebounding team, but a lot of that is thanks to Nikola Vucevic. Outside of him and Drummond, they have lacked difference-makers on the glass. Let’s hope Torrey Craig can change that.
  • The Athletic’s CJ Moore did a story on the social media account “Trilly Donovan,” which has broken some surprising news in the past. The person behind the account agreed to do an interview anonymously, divulging that he grew up a fan of Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators. Moore went on to ask the Chicago Bulls head coach about the whole thing, and Donovan’s response was about what you’d expect:
  • “I don’t know anything about it,” said Donovan, the former Florida Gators and current Chicago Bulls coach. “Certainly I’m not doing it, I’ll tell you that. I appreciate him being a fan of me.”

  • A little over two months until we get to watch Alex Caruso be a madman again …
  • I mentioned this in our post about the recent James Harden news, it’s only a matter of time before Joel Embiid gets a little too frustrated with the drama in Philly:
  • Was it against a bunch of non-pros in a meaningless game? Sure, but Coby White still balled out!
  • Can Roschon Johnson take over the backfield?
  • When the Blackhawks make a move?
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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