Heading into the summer, the Chicago Bulls didn’t have any stakes in the 2023 NBA Draft. They traded their first-round pick away in the Nikola Vucevic deal, and the two seconds they could have had were also sent out. One was traded and the other was stripped by the NBA after Chicago tampered when signing Lonzo Ball.
However, on the night of the draft, they stayed active, trading up to select Tennessee forward Julian Phillips. But on top of that, they stayed on top of things after the draft. Once the night concluded, they quickly signed UConn big man Adama Sanogo to a two-way contract.
According to Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation, this was a great move by the Bulls.
“Overall, the Bulls looked like they made the right call signing him to a two-way deal as quickly as they did,” Schuster wrote. “His 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds (4.0 OREBs per game!), and 1.4 steals a night were enough to warrant a full season of closer evaluation. This is especially true when we consider the Bulls’ options at center are extremely limited behind Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond.”
Schuster praised Sanogo’s hustle on the glass and overall strength during Summer League.
“Despite being undersized, he battled well on the glass and finished at an extremely encouraging 65.7 percent clip,” Schuster wrote. “While Sanogo may not be the most gifted athlete on the floor, he carries an extremely strong frame and has the kind of soft touch around the rim that can make him an extremely intriguing post player.”
Did the Bulls make a good choice bringing in Sanogo?
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Story originally appeared on Lonzo Wire