Getty Denzel Valentine #45 of the Chicago Bulls drives past E'Twaun Moore #55 of the Phoenix Suns
The last time the Chicago Bulls saw E’Twaun Moore on the floor, it was in a reserve role with the Phoenix Suns in 2021. Moore’s Suns would face the Bulls again later in the season but Moore was inactive for that game.
They could see him on the floor again as soon as March 26, 2023. That is when the Bulls will face the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time next season.
And Moore is being linked to the Lakers as a potential free agent fit.
“Well, I don’t think they’re going the Wayne Ellington route again,” a Western Conference executive tells Heavy’s Sean Deveney, “But they can stick with finding a young guy who can maybe contribute as a shooter, who hasn’t gotten much of a chance yet…They could look at other veteran guys, too, like E’Twaun Moore…I think they’d be more likely to take a gamble than take a guy who’s a one-way player and can’t stay on the floor.”
What Moore Will Bring
Moore spent two seasons in Chicago, seeing the end of the Tom Thibodeau era as well as the beginning of Fred Hoiberg’s run as Bulls head coach. In his first season, the Bulls went 50-32 and made the playoffs but fell to the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Moore averaged 2.7 points and shot 34.2% from beyond the arc while playing sparingly.
He averaged 7.5 points. 2.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 45.2% from downtown the following season under Hoiberg.
But that team finished two games above .500 as a nine-seed and out of the postseason.
The executive points out the Lakers’ focus is on adding veteran-minimum shooting around James, Anthony Davis, and (perhaps) Russell Westbrook. There is also a chance that they could still trade for Kyrie Irving which would still require someone with catch-and-shoot skills.
Moore has shot 40.0% from three since leaving the Bulls despite a 31.4% mark while in Phoenix where he appeared in just 27 games with one start in 2021. He shot just 27.6% on catch-and-shoot opportunities that season. But was better the year before knocking them down at a 41.2%-clip.
What Moore Won’t Bring
Listed at 6-foot-3 and posing a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Moore possesses many of the measurables one might expect to find in a solid – or at least capable – defender. That has never really been the case for Moore who has posted an average defensive rating of 113 over the last five seasons.
His offensive rating over that span has been 108 meaning he was a net negative player when on the floor. He has never posted a positive net rating in any year of his career, per Basketball-Reference.
| Season | Age | Tm | G | GS | MP | ORtg | DRtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 22 | BOS | 38 | 0 | 331 | 89 | 101 |
| 2012-13 | 23 | ORL | 75 | 21 | 1682 | 95 | 111 |
| 2013-14 | 24 | ORL | 79 | 3 | 1506 | 102 | 109 |
| 2014-15 | 25 | CHI | 56 | 0 | 504 | 105 | 106 |
| 2015-16 | 26 | CHI | 59 | 22 | 1263 | 105 | 109 |
| 2016-17 | 27 | NOP | 73 | 22 | 1820 | 107 | 111 |
| 2017-18 | 28 | NOP | 82 | 80 | 2586 | 111 | 112 |
| 2018-19 | 29 | NOP | 53 | 36 | 1463 | 110 | 117 |
| 2019-20 | 30 | NOP | 56 | 6 | 1020 | 104 | 114 |
| 2020-21 | 31 | PHO | 27 | 1 | 389 | 103 | 112 |
| Career | 598 | 191 | 12564 | 105 | 111 |
That is a very particular skill set the 33-year-old Moore offers. But it is one that could still prove valuable to the Lakers if used properly and sparingly.
Perhaps that is why the executive thinks the Lakers would rather gamble on a younger player.
Still, Ellington averaged 6.7 points while canning 38.9% of his triples in a role similar to Moore’s with the Pelicans in 2020. The latter should be able to at least fulfill much of that capacity with the Lakers if called on. But, if his stats are anywhere close to what they were in his second season with the Bulls, something will have gone terribly wrong for the Lakers.