Noah Vonleh and Chicago Bulls agree to a 1-year deal before the team starts training camp next week
The Chicago Bulls agreed to a one-year deal with free agent big man Noah Vonleh, his agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday, signaling that perhaps the team’s offseason moves are not complete.
The addition of Vonleh gives the Bulls 16 players under contract, so they would have to clear space on the roster if the 6-foot-10 forward makes the team out of training camp. Vonleh, 25, has bounced around with six different teams since he was a lottery pick in 2014.
Last season, he appeared in 36 games for the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds.
Vonleh’s journey around the league includes a brief stay with the Bulls at the end of the 2017-18 season, when he played 21 games (four starts) and averaged 6.9 points with 6.9 rebounds. He signed with the New York Knicks the following year, and enjoyed his most productive season — starting 57 of 68 games while averaging 8.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
The Bulls don’t have to trim down their roster until Dec. 21, which is the day before the season begins. So they can take a longer look at Vonleh during training camp to see if he can recapture some of his previous success.
After signing guard Garrett Temple last week, the Bulls roster is at a full 15 guaranteed contracts, not including two-way players Adam Mokoka and rookie Devon Dotson. But their frontcourt is getting crowded, and they could move one of their big men to clear roster space. That would mean waiving little-used Cristiano Felicio or Luke Kornet and paying their salary, or pulling off a trade to help create space.
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