On February 16, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle broke the news that they will waive Tristan Thompson from the roster, and he will sign a new deal with the Chicago Bulls after he clears waivers. The Pacers officially waived Thompson on February 17th and The Bulls officially signed Thompson on February 19th.
This season during the trade deadline, the Bulls didn’t make any trades so getting Thompson from the buyout market was a huge move. The Bulls released forward Alfonzo Mckinnie to make the Thompson signing.
What does Tristan Thompson bring to the Bulls?
Thompson brings rebounding, defense, size, toughness and playoff experience to the Bulls. Thompson isn’t the same player he was in Cleveland but he still plays hard and always plays with toughness and an aggressive big has been one of the Bulls’ biggest needs. According to Cleaning the Glass, Thompson’s defensive rebounding rate ranks in the 73rd percentile with his offensive rebounding rate in the 96th percentile.
While Vucevic isn’t on the floor, Thompson will give the Bulls rebounding, size and defense which is very much needed. Another thing Thompson brings to the Bulls is his playoff experience. The Bulls haven’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season, and many players on the roster have no playoff experience. Meanwhile, Thompson has played in 83 playoff games in his career including multiple games in the NBA Finals. Now that the signing is official, Alex Caruso and Tristan Thompson will be the only players on the Bulls roster who have won championships.
It’s always good to have players on your team that have won a championship and adding Thompson means the Bulls will have 2 of those players. Thompson is a good backup center to have and instantly improves the Bulls bench. This was a great signing by the Bulls, Thompson checks all the boxes you want in a backup center, and he makes your team better.
The Bulls’ record is 38-21 which is tied for first place in the East during the All-Star Break; with the addition of Thompson and the Bulls getting key players back from injuries the Bulls are in a good position to have a huge second half of the season and make a run to win a championship.
