When the The Chicago Bulls traded DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings As part of a sign-and-trade deal, and also trading Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder, it signaled a shift toward a rebuild. In a rebuild, it’s important to find cheap, untapped talent. Latest signing to the roster: reserve guard EJ Liddellaccording to Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.com, could be one of those moves.

While details of Liddell’s contract were not immediately available, it is likely a camp deal. Liddell will have to earn a spot on the Bulls’ regular-season roster during training camp.

As it stands, the Bulls have 14 guaranteed contracts on their roster and two of their three two-way contracts are filled. With technically only one season of NBA experience under his belt, Liddell is eligible for a two-way contract.

The bulls added some players to the list who have NBA experience and will compete for that open roster spot. That’s assuming, of course, that the Bulls choose to have a full 15-man roster for the regular season. Liddell appears to be competing with Talen Horton-Tucker, Julian Phillips and Kenneth Lofton for that final roster spot.

EJ Liddell could bring quality depth to Bulls

For a team headed into a rebuild like the Bulls, a player like EJ Liddell could be a low-risk, high-reward addition to their roster. Liddell was originally selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 41st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Liddell suffered a torn ACL during summer league that year and it sidelined him for his entire rookie season. He still signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans in the offseason.

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The Pelicans are reportedly converting Liddell’s contract to a standard contract for the 2023-24 season. Liddell made his NBA debut on Oct. 28 against the New York Knicks with two rebounds in just over two minutes of play. He played in a total of nine games last season.

Liddell spent most of his time in the G League with the Pelicans’ Birmingham Squadron. In 26 games, he averaged 17.7 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 50.4 percent from the field.

Liddell was traded to the Atlanta Hawks this offseason as part of the Dejounte Murray deal with the Pelicans. He was then traded to the Phoenix Suns for David Roddy. The Suns eventually cut him. He’s a small-framed power forward who hasn’t had a real NBA opportunity yet, but has produced at an efficient rate in the G League.

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