Walt Lemon Jr. has been on the Bulls’ radar since way back in late January.
Friday, the guard was in a Bulls uniform, and not the “Windy City’’ variety.
The team announced that they had signed Lemon to an NBA contract, taking him off their G-League roster and giving him an opportunity to show what he can do at the highest level over the final six regular-season games.
A long-time overdue? Maybe, considering the inconsistent play Jim Boylen has gotten from that position since taking over as head coach back on Dec. 3.
What it really was, however, was a reminder that the rebuild is shut down for now, leaving the Bulls a structure basically held together with duct tape and bubblegum, just trying to avoid code violations.
Coach Jim Boylen said after the afternoon practice that point guard Kris Dunn (back strain) and Otto Porter (right shoulder) were out for Saturday’s game with Toronto, while Zach LaVine (right patellar tendonitis) was doubtful.
After already shutting down Lauri Markkanen (rapid heart rate) for the season after the Wednesday loss to Portland, it’s now starting to seem like Porter and Dunn could be done, as well, and LaVine not too far behind.
That’s why a player like Lemon is now getting the head nod.
The Bulls could only dress nine against the Trail Blazers, and were badly in need of help.
“He can really pass, he can get downhill, and I like how tough he is,’’ Boylen said of Lemon. “He competes. It means the world to him to be part of this group.’’
That’s why Lemon said he was actually in tears when he heard the news. A Chicago native, the 6-foot-3 guard grew up idolizing Derrick Rose, so getting to play for his hometown team has meaning to him.
“It’s a dream come true,’’ Lemon said. “I grew up watching this team. I actually cried. It’s a dream to play in the NBA again. I don’t care if it’s five games or two games, for me to put a jersey on is special.’’
Don’t be surprised to see Boylen lean on Lemon with some minutes, as well.
It was back in late January that the Sun-Times reported Lemon was opening some eyes at Windy City, averaging 20.1 points, 8.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.48 steals, after being released from his two-way contract with the Celtics back on Nov. 29.
At the time Lemon was being discussed, Dunn was struggling with inconsistency, and the thought was to bring in some more competition to push Dunn in practice, since the team wasn’t looking to add a point guard by the February trade deadline.
Instead, they opted to just ride Ryan Arcidiacono in that back-up role, as well as developing Shaquille Harrison at the point.
Now, however, it’s all hands on deck, with the Bulls scheduled to play three games in the next five nights, and needing bodies.
As far as the latest body that was officially shutdown, as expected Markkanen did work out with a heart monitor on, as the big man will be under a close watch the next few weeks, also scheduled for some further testing.
“I wasn’t really worried at any point,’’ Markkanen said. “I just kind of felt really weird and just kind of how normally (feel) after a workout … Wasn’t really worried at any point. It wasn’t scary, but felt pretty weird.
“Everything I’ve gotten so far is everything’s good. We’re monitoring me when I’m working out, so it’s safe. We’re trying to get some additional information, but everything’s fine as of now.’’
