Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
Chicago Bulls management made no secret of its desire to double down on its core, which it did by re-signing Nikola Vučević, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.
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But it also added Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig in free agency, two veterans whom the franchise believes will add defense, shooting and toughness.
“He wears a different pride on his chest being from Chicago. Looking forward to seeing him put that jersey on right in the United Center,” general manager Marc Eversley said of Carter, who attended Proviso East High School. “He brings toughness, grit. He brings a competitive spirit to our group that we felt we needed to address. And we’ve done that. Not to mention he’s a 40 percent 3-point shooter. We talked a lot about adding shooting. He kind of checks all those boxes for us.
“Torrey has versatility defensively. He’s a wing defender but he can also guard down or he can guard up. Also shot in the high 30s from 3. And he brings a defensive mindset that I’m sure Billy (Donovan) and the coaching staff are going to use every single night. The defensive versatility he provides for us is going to be beneficial to us through 82 games and hopefully into a playoff run.”
Eversley spoke during an appearance on the Bulls Talk Podcast, taped on Saturday outside the United Center as the franchise’s second annual Bulls Fest played out around him.
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Carter is a career 39.7 percent 3-point shooter who connected at 42.1 percent over 81 games for the Milwaukee Bucks last season.
Craig shot a career-high 39.5 percent from 3-point range while appearing in a career-high 79 games for the Phoenix Suns, including 60 starts.
Both players are considered plus-defenders. And when the Bulls have experienced success over the past two seasons, it has featured surrounding Vucevic, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan with shooting, defense and high IQ veterans.
The 2021-22 Bulls led the Eastern Conference for the first half of the season while starting Lonzo Ball and Javonte Green alongside the three centerpiece players. Last season’s underwhelming campaign did feature a 14-9 finish when Patrick Beverley arrived via the buyout market and started with Alex Caruso alongside Vučević, LaVine and DeRozan.
“We’ve talked a lot about surrounding those three with guys who can complement them,” Eversley said. “When Lonzo was healthy, when Javonte Green was healthy, it’s that type of player that we’ve looked to address to bring back into the program. And I think we’ve done that.
“We’re not that far off. There’s lots to build on from last year. We really like our core group. I think we addressed some things this summer that we wanted to. And we’re looking forward to training camp.”