As NBA free agency begins, Bulls fill roster by re-signing guard Tre Jones

The Bulls headed into the start of NBA free agency with one vacant roster spot and filled it quickly.

They plan to re-sign guard Tre Jones to a three-year deal worth $24 million, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

This move makes sense as long as the Bulls plan to continue the fast-paced offense. After arriving from San Antonio in the three-team Zach LaVine trade, Jones utilized his speed to push the tempo, and take some of the ballhandling pressure off Coby White or Josh Giddey.

With the increased workload, Jones ended up missing the final 12 games with a foot injury, but the Bulls can hope that was a fluke. The five-year pro out of Duke averaged 11.5 points and 4.9 assists with the Bulls.

The transaction everyone is still expecting at some point is the Bulls agreeing to a new deal with Giddey, a restricted free agent. If they can't work something out, Giddey could sign an offer sheet from another team, which the Bulls could then match, or sign a one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

Go ahead and put the odds of Giddey sticking with the Bulls at about 99%. He had a strong finish to last season, averaging 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists.

Once Giddey re-signs, the Bulls will have no cap space and the maximum 15 players under contract. In theory, they could buy out the final year of Jevon Carter's deal and use the mid-level exception to sign someone else. Second-round pick Lachlan Olbrich seems likely to sign a two-way deal, or stay in Australia.

To make a big splash, the Bulls need to make a trade. They have a large number of expiring contracts that could be attractive to other teams if attached to future draft picks. Keep in mind, a better time to make a trade might be at the deadline next February.

Some of the news reported in the first two hours of free-agency were Atlanta's Caris LeVert signing with Detroit, Hawks center Clint Capela going back to Houston, Golden State center Kevon Looney to New Orleans, former Bulls center Luke Kornet getting a three-year deal from San Antonio, D'Angelo Russell to Dallas and Cleveland guard Ty Jerome to Memphis.

Denver traded Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson, while forward Bruce Brown is returning to Nuggets, where he was a key piece to the 2023 title team, on a one-year deal.