The first night of NBA free agency was anything but boring for Chicago Bulls fans, as the team stayed very active. They made a couple of big moves in addition to re-signing Nikola Vucevic earlier in the week. Chicago brought back Coby White on a three-year, $33 million deal (which could get up to $40 million based on incentives).
But the most intriguing move Chicago made was signing veteran point guard Jevon Carter to a three-year, $20 million contract. The Bulls needed to add point guard help this summer, and they did just that in the form of Carter. However, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bulls fans could have something to be concerned about.
While he admitted that Carter has a useful skillset, he pointed toward the veteran’s lack of starting experience as a cause for potential concern, also noting that he has big shoes to fill in Patrick Beverley, who helped propel the team to a 14-9 record to end the season this past year. Beverley signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
“What should concern Bulls fans, however, is Carter always has been a role player, with 39 starts and 22.4 minutes per game last season in Milwaukee, both career highs. If the Bulls plan on starting him, how will that translate in a bigger workload?
“Also, Carter isn’t exactly known as a playmaker. The Bulls had numerous issues with late-game offense in close games, with coach Billy Donovan going with a point guard-by-committee approach. The Bulls were 15-23 in clutch-game situations in total last season, and that included a 5-3 record with Beverley.
“Carter has important shoes to fill,” Cowley wrote.
Carter has all the tools to be a solid starter for the Bulls. He just has to prove it.
