Bulls set to add another ex-Suns point guard in Harrison
The greatest Chicago-born point guard, Isiah Thomas, was at the United Center on Saturday night, a rare appearance for him.
The Bulls, meanwhile, are suddenly swimming in point guards. They plan to sign recent Phoenix Suns discard Shaquille Harrison and release injured center Omer Asik. The news was first reported by The Athletic and later confirmed by a team source.
Kris Dunn missed his second game Saturday for the birth of his son and Cameron Payne started for the second time in his place. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said the plan is for Dunn to meet the team in Dallas and play against the Mavericks on Monday.
Harrison is a third-year pro from Tulsa. He spent most of the past two seasons with Northern Arizona in the G-League and started for the Phoenix Suns in preseason. It seemed possible Harrison would begin the season as the Suns' top point guard, but they released him before the opener.
The 6-foot-4 Harrison appeared in 23 NBA games last season and averaged 11 points, 3.6 assists in the G-League.
It's probably safe to assume this move shows a lack of faith in Payne to fill in for Dunn, although Payne had a decent start in Saturday's game against Detroit.
"The start we got off to offensively the other night (in Philadelphia), I thought Cam got us into some good offense," Hoiberg said. "Defensively, it's a team issue. I like how Arch brings energy off the bench and that's the reason that we decided to go that way."
Asik wasn't expected to play this season and the Bulls gave up on the idea of trading him. The Bulls will have to play Asik $11.3 million this season and a $3 million buyout for next year.
Valentine needs more time:
Denzel Valentine will spend at least two more weeks on the sideline to see if his left ankle sprain improves. Coach Fred Hoiberg said an MRI exam showed a bone bruise in addition to the sprain.
"Start of the season, home opener - you feel the energy and it feels like I am supposed to be out there," Valentine said before Saturday's game. "It just kind of stinks because all the work I put in this summer and just being around the guys, you want to be out there so bad. But things happen for a reason and now that we know what's going on, I at least have a time frame and can kind of be patient with it a little bit.
Valentine explained that the injury first happened in early September during informal workouts at the Advocate Center.
"I kind of twisted it and it was worse than we thought. It's just taken time," he said. "It just wasn't where it needed to be and then we backed off a little bit, came back again and it still wasn't ready. It's going to be bittersweet when I get back and have a great year."
Bull horns:
The Bulls opened the regular season with the second-youngest roster in the league at 24.5 years. The Knicks are the youngest at 24.4. … Wendell Carter Jr. was the 10th rookie in Bulls history to start on opening night.