The Chicago Bulls made a small but notable roster move Wednesday, agreeing to a training-camp deal with veteran forward Kevin Knox, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Knox, now 26, joins Chicago after spending last season in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors, where he averaged 21.8 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 44 percent from the field.
Knox’s contract is believed to be an Exhibit 10, meaning it’s non-guaranteed and mainly designed to secure his G League rights if he’s waived before the regular season.
The signing comes a day after the Bulls’ preseason win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, a game that gave fans an early look at Matas Buzelis’ confidence and Noa Essengue’s energy off the bench.
My immediate reaction
You can’t blame me. Every year the Bulls fill the back end of the preseason roster with another batch of “maybe-he-sticks” forwards, and every year it comes at the expense of watching the prospects fans actually want to see.
Noa Essengue, the undrafted two-way big who flashed upside in Summer League, was already fighting for developmental minutes. Adding Knox — a player with seven NBA seasons and stops with the Knicks, Hawks, Pistons, Trail Blazers, and Warriors — just clogs an already crowded rotation of tweeners.
What Knox brings
Knox was once the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Kentucky and earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors before entering the league. He’s a 6’7″ wing with a smooth shooting stroke, but his NBA career has been defined by inconsistency — flashes of scoring mixed with stretches of invisibility.
In seven seasons he’s averaged 7.3 points and 2.9 rebounds on 39 percent shooting. His best stretch came as a rookie with the Knicks when he averaged 12.8 points per game, but his defensive impact and shot selection have kept him bouncing between teams and 10-day contracts ever since.
Still, Knox rebuilt some value in the G League last year, and Chicago’s camp deal gives him a chance to prove he’s more than a name on a former-lottery-flyer list.
The bigger picture
From the Bulls’ perspective, this is a no-risk flyer. Exhibit 10 deals cost almost nothing and can convert into G League bonuses if a player reports to the affiliate — in this case, Windy City.
But for fans looking for preseason intrigue, it’s hard not to sigh. Chicago already has developmental wings like Essengue, Julian Phillips, and Matas Buzelis who need reps more than Knox does.
Unless Knox shows an undeniable spark in the limited exhibition window, his signing feels more like a camp-body move than a meaningful roster shake-up.
Bottom line
Kevin Knox is an understandable veteran add — length, scoring pedigree, and G League production — but he’s unlikely to change the Bulls’ forward depth chart. If anything, it’s another reminder that preseason minutes are precious, and Bulls fans would rather use them to evaluate the future than recycle the past.
We’ll see if Knox proves me wrong. Until then, free Essengue.