(670 The Score) With a hole at point guard and nearly half of their roster set to hit unrestricted or restricted free agency, the Bulls have no shortage of roster decisions to make this offseason.
One of the key secondary decisions the Bulls will need to make – after shopping for a point guard and deciding on big man Lauri Markkanen’s future, for example – is on veteran wing Garrett Temple, who will hit the open market after joining Chicago on a one-year, $5-million deal last November. Temple, 35, averaged 7.6 points and shot 33.5% from 3-point range in 27.3 minutes across 56 games, including 25 starts. He was also viewed as a key presence in the locker room for youngsters like guard Coby White and forward Patrick Williams.
For his part, Temple wants to return to Chicago.
“I would love to be here and be that same veteran presence, that defender, a guy that the young guys can lean upon, coach can lean upon to impart things to the team,” Temple said. “And I feel like I got a few more years to play, to really compete on the court, so I would love to be back. But as I said, I don't have a player option, the option is not mine, the choice is not mine. But once we get things together, this is definitely a place I would love to come back to, and, as I said, finish what I think we started here in terms of being able to get to be a contender in the East.”
Temple has played for 10 different organizations in his 11 NBA seasons, so he certainly understands he could be on the move again.
“I mean this is the NBA,” he said. “I learned about the business early on, through my 10-day contracts, things like that. So I could never say what's going to happen in free agency. I can only say what I would like to happen. I really enjoyed Chicago. Even with the snow, even with the pandemic, the organization from what I've been hearing took a turn for the better. It was great while I was here. Like I said, I think (executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley) have done a great job of trying to build a culture here. Billy (Donovan), as well.
“And culture, it’s a cliché word, but it’s something that actually does happen if you want to become a good team. And it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years to create that. So I think it’s definitely going in the right direction. I was pleasantly surprised by the organization, by the coaching. It was really good. It’s a bright future.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.