Bulls sign Talen Horton-Tucker to partially guaranteed deal |
While most of the focus continues to be on Major League Baseball, especially with the stretch run now underway, the NFL also starts this week, as sports will once again be in full swing. Shortly after that come both the NHL and NBA regular seasons, as this is the time of year when most of the sports are going on.
I'm sticking to basketball for a little bit. The Chicago Bulls are prepping for training camp and what could be an interesting and challenging season. This team was much more active than a lot of people expected them to be, but they were active in a good way as they not only got younger but added some pieces that could make a difference both in the long and short term. Although they haven't had a move in over a month, Chicago has gone back to the free agent market as they have reached a deal with veteran Guard Talen Horton-Tucker. The terms of this deal are still unclear, but we do know that this is a partially guaranteed contract, which raises the question about what type of deal this is. A Chicago Native, Horton-Tucker hasn't been around too long. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him in 2019. He went on to spend three seasons in Los Angeles and saw action in more than 120 games, averaging just over 9 PPG. That included a 10.0 PPG showing in his final year in Los Angeles, which helped him land a multi-year deal with the Jazz. During his time in Utah, Horton-Tucker became a valuable asset for the Jazz, whether that be as a starter or coming off the bench as a role player. Across his 116 career games with the Jazz, THT saw his scoring increase slightly as he averaged a career-best 10.7 PPG in 2022-23 before finishing with 10.1 PPG in 2023-24. Regardless, that would've been better than anyone else on the Bulls bench last season, so there is some value to this deal. At 6-4, Horton-Tucker is the typical size you look for in a guard, but at close to 240 pounds, he is much more physical than what people give him credit for. He offers some scoring off the bench, is an above-average rebounder, and pulls down close to five rebounds per game. Although his overall shooting numbers were down last season, Horton-Tucker still shoots close to 43% for his career but only 29% from deep. That is the one aspect of his game that has improved, as he connected on 33% of his three-point attempts last season. For a team that desperately needs shooting, Horton-Tucker doesn't necessarily bring that to the table, but given his ability to knock down shots from distance at times, he is an upgrade from some of the Bulls other options. Any time you hear the words partially guaranteed contract, the first thought that comes to mind is that this is a tryout contract with the potential to turn into an NBA deal. Should that happen, the contract would become fully guaranteed, as opposed to only owing him the portion that is agreed upon. Earlier this offseason, many experts mentioned the Bulls as a great fit for Lonnie Walker IV, which still could be a possibility given the Bulls' remaining funds. Horton-Tucker is a very similar player to Walker IV but isn't as good of a shooter. He is also just 24 years old, which falls in line with what the Bulls have been doing to their roster as they have been trying to get younger. It's unclear how this contract will turn out once training camp starts, but it has a similar fall to the deals for Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig from last season. Carter was brought in to be the three-point specialist off the bench and then went on to have one of the worst overall seasons of his career. Craig was much better when he was on the court, but he dealt with far too many injuries to make an impact last season. Horton-Tucker is one of those players who could land somewhere in between both of those players. Regardless, he is an upgrade over the options the Bulls have had on the bench, which only makes this team deeper.
