Getty Mac McClung
The Chicago Bulls are back on the court, on a two-game win streak and on the 10-day contract market. On Tuesday, they signed former Georgetown and Texas Tech standout point guard (6’2) Mac McClung to a 10-day deal in time for Wednesday’s game with the Toronto Raptors.
The Bulls figure to be very shorthanded at the guard spot with Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu and now Devon Dotson in health and safety protocols.
Can confirm Devon Dotson has entered league’s health and safety protocols, per source. 1st with news was @DarnellMayberry.
Bulls will sign Mac McClung to 10-day contract, according to @ShamsCharania. Haven’t independently confirmed that yet.
Regardless, it’s sign virus persists
The guard situation got even worse with Alex Caruso injuring his foot in the team’s win over the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Before signing McClung, the Bulls would have only Lonzo Ball, Troy Brown Jr. (who is now out of health and safety protocols) and Coby White at guard unless they played Javonte Green in the backcourt, but he’s already playing out of position at power forward. With Derrick Jones Jr. nursing a hamstring injury, the Bulls can’t afford to slide Green away from his duties at the 4.
Minutes are piling up on the Bulls who have avoided the COVID list.
Ever since the Bulls’ COVID-19 outbreak, Ball has been averaging 37.6 minutes per game. He and the rest of the roster just got an extended break during the postponement period, but it appears Chicago is justifiably concerned with the minutes piling up on one of their most important pieces this year and into the future.
670 The Score’s Cody Westerlund gave an update of the Bulls’ roster situation:
OK let’s try the #Bulls roster reset again as I try to keep up for the sake of my sanity. Here’s their current situation.
After this tweet, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported the Bulls are “planning to” sign Ersan Ilyasova to a 10-day hardship deal, and TBJ was confirmed to be out of protocols.
The Chicago Bulls are planning to sign veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova on a 10-day hardship exemption, pending a physical and protocols, sources tell @ramonashelburne and me.
It’s getting crazy.
Why Mac McClung?
The rookie point guard came out of high school with tons of hype, and he chose to attend Georgetown where he played for two years, averaging 15.7 points and 2.4 assists per game his sophomore year.
McClung transferred to Texas Tech for what would be his final year of college and he put up similar numbers. He averaged 15.5 points and 2.1 assists per game for the Red Raiders, while slightly improving his three-point shooting from just under 33% to 34%. The 22-year-old went undrafted when he came out after the 2020-22 season and landed with the Los Angeles Lakers’ G-League affiliate where he has shown massive improvement.
In 13 games with the South Bay Lakers, McClung is averaging 19.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while making 39.5% of his threes with 2.7 turnovers and 1.3 steals per game. It’s unclear how much of a chance McClung will have to make a lasting mark with the Bulls, but he should have an opportunity to show what he can do while giving Ball and White a breather.
The Bulls are no stranger to finding gems on the Lakers’ roster. The signing of Alex Caruso has been a Godsend. If McClung can have a fraction of the impact Caruso has had, the Bulls would be thrilled.
When Are the Regulars Due Back?
According to Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, LaVine, Dosunmu, Matt Thomas and Alize Johnson won’t be back before Christmas. Dotson is a new addition to the H&S list, so his clock would start on December 21, which would likely keep him off the court until the first or second week of the new year.
While much of the league is just beginning to experience this new wave of COVID, the Bulls seem to be coming out of it. Let’s just hope EVERYONE comes through healthy and mostly unhindered by these unfortunate events.
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