Bulls send Teague to D-League, then bring him back

The Bulls assigned second-year point guard Marquis Teague to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Developmental League on Tuesday. But he made a quick U-turn and returned to Chicago because veteran point guard Mike James may miss time with a knee injury.

Sending Teague to the D-League was a somewhat surprising move, since it left just 10 healthy players on the roster, and the Bulls have seemed reluctant to send any of their players on D-League assignments since Martynus Andriuskevicius was seriously injured in an altercation with a teammate while playing for the Dakota Wizards.

Coach Tom Thibodeau turned over the backup point-guard duties to James, 38, during the past two games. So maybe the goal was simply to get Teague more playing experience.

Teague played just six seconds combined in the two games. James had no points and 6 assists while playing a combined 23 minutes in the last two contests, both losses.

Teague is in his second pro season after playing just one year in college at Kentucky. He had some strong performances last season and played well in the summer league. His season highs this year are 4 points and 2 assists.