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Bulls sign free agent forward just ahead of training camp

The Chicago Bulls have had a busy Tuesday.

As is its team president Arturas Karnisovas’ custom, Chicago has had a relatively quiet summer. The Bulls re-signed reserve point guard Tre Jones to a reasonable three-year, $24 million deal and flipped former backup point guard Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for small forward Isaac Okoro.

Chicago also selected forward Noah Essengue with the No. 12 pick at the bottom of the lottery and former Illawarra Hawks center Lachlan Olbrich with the No. 55 selection deep in the second round.

Chicago’s latest addition

On Tuesday, the big headline in Bulls world was the club’s decision to ink point guard Josh Giddey to a four-year, $100 million deal, about halfway between the $30 million annual value the 6-foot-8 Aussie was hoping for and the $20 million yearly rate Chicago wanted, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, Giddey’s contract will represent a fairly reasonable portion of the Bulls’ salary cap over the balance of the deal.

Now, the Bulls have brought in a new free agent forward with training camp mere weeks away.

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Keith Smith of Spotrac reports that Chicago signed combo forward Mouhamadou Gueye to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal.

Gueye joins guards Caleb Grill and Wooga Poplar on these training camp deals. Chicago currently has all three of its two-way slots occupied, by Olbrich, forward Emanuel Miller, and point guard Yuki Kawamura.

The Bulls have all 21 of their roster spots filled heading into camp, the max allowed.

Gueye went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2022. The 6-foot-9 forward played for the Dallas Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, to kick off his pro career in 2022-23. 

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He was toggled between the Toronto Raptors’ G League team, Raptors 905, and Toronto proper in 2023-24. In 11 games for Toronto during the 2023-24 season, Gueye averaged 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per.

Gueye played for the Washington Wizards’ NBAGL club, the Capital City Go-Go, last year.

As an Exhibit 10 signing, Gueye could potentially be promoted to a two-way deal, although Chicago would need to cut somebody to accommodate him. Alternately, if he is cut before the start of the season and logs 60 days of service with the Bulls’ G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, Gueye could earn a bonus worth up to $85,300. Not bad work if you can get it.

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