3 Former Bulls Still Unemployed After Free Agency Week 1

The Chicago Bulls have been one of the more active teams this offseason as they traded Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan to kick off their rebuild. The Bulls still have a couple of potential moves to make, but it’s clear that the front office is ready to turn the page.

At the same time, countless former Bulls players are looking for their next opportunity with the first week of NBA free agency in the books. With most of the big names signed, the mid-tier free agents are searching for one-to-two-year deals as many teams don’t have a lot of cap space to offer massive contracts.

So far this offseason, we’ve already seen Andre Drummond, who was with the Bulls for the last two seasons, sign a two-year, $10 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. With that in mind, we’ll highlight a few more former Bulls, who are trying to land a new opportunity next season in the Association.

1. Patrick Beverley

Beverley didn’t have a long stint with his hometown Chicago Bulls as he only played 22 games in the Windy City during the 2022-23 season. The Los Angeles Lakers traded the veteran point guard at the deadline in a massive four-team deal that sent Beverley to Orlando.

However, the Magic had no plans on keeping Pat Bev on the roster, so they released him and he got picked up by the Bulls. Beverley started in 22 games with Chicago, averaging 5.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 27.5 minutes per game.

The stats that Beverley put up with the Bulls weren’t earth-shattering, but it was good enough to keep himself in the starting lineup and bring some stability to the position. 

After Chicago, Beverley signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers last offseason. Pat Bev provided a spark off the bench for the Sixers, averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds.

But the 35-year-old combo guard didn’t spend the entire 2023-24 season with the Sixers as they traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for Cameron Payne and a 2027 second-round pick. The vet put up a similar statline with the Bucks, averaging 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.

With there being still several quality guards in free agency, Beverley might have to wait for his market to emerge. However, with his experience and defense, a contender might take a chance with a veteran minimum deal.