Bulls Sign The Best UDFA From The Draft
The Bulls surprised many when they held onto the 18th pick last night and draft Arizona point guard Dalen Terry. Although the team didn’t make another selection, they were able to snag a great prospect who was actually mocked to go in the first round in some NBA drafts.
Bulls Sign Justin Lewis To Two-Way Contract
Just minutes after the Draft wrapped up, Shams Charania of The Athletic, reported that the Chicago Bulls had agreed to a two-way deal with Marquette Forward Justin Lewis. This is a welcoming addition to the team. Lewis is 20 years old and adds good size and length to the roster along with great versatility. He’s 6-foot-7.5, 245 pounds, with a 7-foot-2.5 wingspan.
The Bulls are banking on these traits and it’s a great way to draft in my opinion. Lewis also brings a little bit of scoring too. Lewis averaged nearly 17 PPG and added almost 8 boards a game. He was active on the defensive side as well, where he posted 1.1 steals per game and 0.6 blocks. These numbers were good enough to see Lewis take home last year’s Big East Most Improved Player Award. The Bulls did really well here locking Lewis up. He is arguably the best UDFA in this Draft class.
Justin Lewis is definitely one of "my guys" for this 2022 class. I think he's just scratching the surface of what he can bloom into as a scorer. The 33 points he dropped against Seton Hall was one of my favorite displays of the season. His shotmaking potential is scary IMO. pic.twitter.com/q2tb31Cvyg
— Evan Wheeler (@Evzsz) June 16, 2022
How Do Two-Way Contracts Work?
Essentially, this type of deal is for a player a team really likes and sees a lot of potential in. Justin Lewis will spend time both in the NBA with the Bulls and their G-League team. This will allow the organization time to develop Lewis and see if he has what it takes to make it at this level. It’s a great strategy that most teams utilize. The Warriors showed us all how it’s done as they did a great job with 19-year old forward Jonathan Malangu last season.
Hopefully the Bulls find similar success with Lewis.