The Chicago Bulls have signed free agent guard Talen Horton-Tucker to a partially guaranteed contract, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Horton-Tucker, who began his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played the last two seasons with the Utah Jazz, will have an opportunity to make Chicago’s roster that is pretty deep with similarly sized/skilled players.
Coby White is coming off a breakout season. Josh Giddey comes to Chicago from Oklahoma City. Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, Chris Guarte and Lonzo Ball, if he is able to play this season, occupy the same spaces as Horton-Tucker. Zach LaVine is still around.
Horton-Tucker, a Chicago native, can play. He’s a stout 6-foot-4 with the ability to create his own shot. He just doesn’t make enough of them.
Over his five NBA seasons to date, Horton-Tucker’s effective field-goal percentage has never ranked above the 40th percentile among combo guards, per Cleaning the Glass. The last three seasons he has ranked in the 11th, 12th and 17th percentiles, respectively.
Last year with Utah, Horton-Tucker averaged 10.5 points in 20 minutes per game. His 39% shooting clip was the worst of his career, though he did manage to make 33% of his 3s. That’s still a really bad number for a guard, but it’s the best THT has ever shot from beyond the arc if you like your glass half full. We’ll see if Horton-Tucker is able to make the final roster.