Chicago will start its 2022 NBA Summer League showdowns on July 8, according to NBC Sports Bulls Insider K.C. Johnson.
The Bulls are guaranteed to play four regular season games and one playoff game, starting with the Dallas Mavericks at 3 p.m. CDT in the University of Nevada’s Thomas and Mack Center. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU.
Its other regular season matchups include the New York Knicks on July 10, Toronto on July 12 and Charlotte on July 14. All three games will be broadcasted at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, NBA TV and ESPN2 respectively.
The Bulls lit up a Kai Jones-led Charlotte Hornets team in a 25-point victory during their fifth and final game of last year’s Summer League, a game forward Patrick Williams missed as he attended a matchup between the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun, according to a tweet from Daniel Greenberg. Guard Ayo Dosunmu poured on 19 points after finishing with 26 the night before, using his defensive intensity and IQ to help Chicago limit the Hornets to 32% shooting from the field and 16% from the 3-point line.
Both Williams and Dosunmu have expressed interest in suiting up for the Bulls this July and gaining what Dosunmu called an extra opportunity to showcase a player’s game in an end-of-season press conference as Chicago begins the process of rounding out its Summer League roster.
“It’s a fun experience,” Dosunmu said. “That’s up to the management. Either way, I’m alright with that.”
Dosunmu averaged 8.8 points and shot 52% from the field in 77 games last season. Injuries to guards Lonzo Ball and Coby White paved a path for the rookie to earn the backup point guard spot and valuable playoff minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Williams could not overstate how important summer training programs were for his development. The 20-year-old forward said he knew what it meant to learn and apply skills from players like forward DeMar DeRozan and how to iron out inefficiencies that came from youth and inexperience.
“Being (this young) in the NBA can be a blessing and a curse,” Williams said. “You don’t really know much. Any opportunity I can get to learn about myself, the game and how other guys play from workouts, lifts and treatment are things I can keep with me for the rest of my career.”
The Bulls will likely have the 18th pick in the NBA draft at their disposal during the upcoming Summer League. Recent mock drafts from CBS Sports placed a wide variety of centers and forwards, from Memphis center Jalen Duren to G League Ignite forward MarJon Beauchamp, at Chicago’s spot in the first round. Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell and LSU forward Tari Eason are also two names linked to the Bulls in mock drafts, according to Johnson.
Chicago finished its 2021 Summer League run with a 2-3 record behind the stellar scoring of both Williams and Dosunmu. They earned 21 and 12.6 points per game respectively.
The Bulls rounded out their 13-man roster with three Bulls roster players and an assortment of free agents from across the league. Williams, Dosunmu and former KK Mega Bemax center Marko Simonovic all made the main Chicago roster by the league’s end. Four other players saw time on its G League affiliate for the duration of the 2021-22 season.
Coach and Chicago native Henry Domercant split his two contests in the Thomas and Mack Center after taking over for Bulls assistant Damian Cotter three games into last year’s run. Domercant spent one season as a player development coordinator for the main roster before he was chosen to be the Windy City Bulls’ head coach last September, their fourth in program history.
“My heart is here,” Domercant told NBC Sports’ Rob Schaefer. “I’ve played all around the world, but Chicago has always been home.”
It is unknown whether Cotter, Domercant, or a new candidate will take the head coaching helm for this year’s roster.
The league will officially tip off on July 7 as the Houston Rockets face off against the Orlando Magic at 9 p.m. on NBA TV. A total of 75 games between all 30 NBA teams will be played throughout 11 days of competition. Summer League schedules, rules and more can be found on the NBA’s website.
