Chicago Bulls Sign G Norman Powell 2yr/45m
While this signing won’t have anyone thinking the Bulls are championship contenders, it is still a great signing that will help them in other areas. With the new lottery odds stating that the bottom three teams, record-wise, will have worse odds than teams 4-10, franchises now have to find ways to make sure they don’t fall in the bottom three. This signing will help the Bulls with this, as Powell is coming off his best season to date, making the All-Star Game and continuing his late-bloomer breakout.
Getting Powell on a deal like this helps the Bulls avoid a bottom-three record and makes him an attractive trade target come this deadline or next offseason. If Powell continues to play at the same level he has the past two seasons, this contract will look like a steal. With it being a relatively short-term deal, teams will be lining up to trade for him.
Powell is coming off his second straight 21+ point-per-game season after not breaking 20 points per game in any of his previous 11 seasons. He was also efficient, shooting in the high 40% while taking 15+ shots a night. These numbers, alongside an All-Star appearance, usually would lead to a big, long-term deal, but the Bulls were able to get him on a short, middle-of-the-pack annual value contract. This contract will help the team now and in the future if they decide to flip him for young talent or picks to help jump-start this new rebuild in Chicago.
