Bulls News And Notes

The Chicago Bulls finished 3-2 at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, closing the week with three consecutive wins. Most of the attention was on first-round draft pick James Johnson, who averaged 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the five games. The 6-foot-8 forward from wake Forest demonstrated he can handle the ball well. He often got a defensive rebound and headed up court with the ball. The only negative thing with Johnson is that his outside shot could use some work. The Bulls’ other first-round draft pick, 6-10 forward Taj Gibson, averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds. Gibson missed the last three games due to a sore foot. The forward also racked up 19 fouls in the two games he played in, but that could be because the foul-out rules are relaxed for the summer league. Guard Demarcus Nelson had a good week in Las Vegas. He managed to  get 13.8 points. “For the second time four years, the Bulls have bid an early farewell to F Tim Thomas. The veteran agreed to a contract settlement and was released July 14. The 6-foot-9 Thomas joined the Bulls from New York as part of the Larry Hughes trade last Feb. 19, but played little during the rest of the season. He was due to make $6.4 million next season, but the Bulls felt he was expendable because they have a similar expiring contract in Jerome James, which could be used in a trade. Thomas’ buyout also gave the team roughly $2 million in extra room beneath the luxury tax threshold.”

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