At his mid-April season-ending news conference, executive vice president Arturas Karnišovas stated his desire to improve the Chicago Bulls’ 3-point shooting next season.
Before adding personnel to try to do this, he’s adding some coaching help.
In a homecoming moment, the Bulls plan to hire former Loyola Academy and DePaul star Peter Patton in their player development program, per sources. While Patton’s title isn’t expected to mention shooting and is expected to be director of player development, he has worked as a shooting coach for both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks.
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Patton, who set the DePaul single-season 3-point shooting mark by connecting at 54.1 percent, also has history with renowned shooting coach Chip Engelland. Currently with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Engelland got his start working with Steve Kerr while Kerr played for the Bulls. Engelland also spent many seasons working for the Spurs and is considered one of the league’s pre-eminent shooting coaches.
As for Patton, he worked closely with Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson when with the Mavericks. And his ties to Chicago are deep.
The Bulls finished last in the NBA in 3-point attempts last season, an area that Karnisovas specifically pointed to as one he wants to improve. They were the only NBA team to average fewer than 30 3-pointers per game.
Patton was a celebrated, three-sport athlete in high school in suburban Chicago before earning the captaincy during his DePaul stint. Now, he’s coming home.
