Someone should tell Arturas Karnisovas that he doesn’t have to only sign Chicago guys.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, another hometown kid is coming to the United Center. The Chicago Bulls have reportedly signed Talen Horton-Tucker to a partially guaranteed deal. He will join the organization for training camp and have a chance to steal a roster spot.
To be sure, the Bulls only have one two-way contract to offer as of now. They could make room on the 15-man roster, however, via trade or by choosing to let go of Onuralp Bitim. The 25-year-old wing joined the full-time roster midway through last season on a partially guaranteed deal. He is owed $350,000 on opening night and would not be eligible for the rest of his $1.6 million until Jan. 10, 2025.
Bulls Taking a Chance on Talen Horton-Tucker
Still just 23 years old, Talen Horton-Tucker is a former four-star recruit out of Simeon High School. He chose to attend Iowa State before entering the 2019 NBA Draft, where he was selected No. 46th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Horton-Tucker spent three seasons with Los Angeles before spending the past two years in Utah. During his time with the Jazz, he averaged 10.5 points and 3.6 assists on a lackluster 40.6 percent shooting from the field. Horton-Tucker’s size and strength have always been his calling card. He has an extremely bulky frame to pair with solid athleticism, but this hasn’t led to the downhill scoring efficiency that many once hoped for.
Still, Horton-Tucker has flashed an overall strong feel for the game and the ability to impact multiple areas of the box score. His long-range shooting remains a pretty major red flag, but the Bulls are currently in a position to take a chance on someone like him. We’ll see if he can manage to impress in camp, as well as outperform another young dart throw signing, Kenny Lofton Jr.
The Bulls now have five players from the Chicagoland area on their training camp roster (Matas Buzelis, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, DJ Steward, and Talen Horton-Tucker).