Talen Horton-Tucker is headed back home to Chicago, though likely to the Windy City Bulls and not the big club.
Horton-Tucker agreed to Exhibit 10 contract with Chicago, story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic and confirmed by KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. An Exhibit 10 contract means the player is invited to training camp and, if he doesn’t make the main roster, he can receive a bonus of up to $77,500 for signing with the club’s G-League team, in this case the Windy City Bulls.
The Bulls have 14 guaranteed contracts on the books — in addition to a partially guaranteed deal with Onuralp Bitim — leaving one open roster spot heading into training camp and the season. However, the club is expected to leave that spot unfilled both for financial savings and roster flexibility. The Bulls also have one open two-way contract, which Horton-Tucker and Kenneth Lofton Jr. will fight for.
Horton-Tucker attended Simeon Career Academy, a high school on the South Side of Chicago, before going off to college at Iowa State. The explosive 6’4″ guard was a second-round pick of the Magic who was traded on draft night 2019 to the Los Angeles Lakers. THT became part of the Lakers’ tradition when, after the club spent big to bring in Russell Westbrook in 2021, it had to choose between re-signing either Alex Caruso or Horton-Tucker, and they went with the youth and potential of Horton-Tucker Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was so high on THT that he was the reported line in the sand in 2021 negotiations with Toronto for Kyle Lowry – the Lakers wouldn’t put him in the deal A year later, Horton-Tucker’s stock fell long enough that he was traded to Utah as part of a package to bring Patrick Beverley.
Horton-Tucker’s athleticism isn’t in question — during training camp and the preseason, Bulls fans can expect some flashy plays — but his decision-making, especially his shot options, has fans and coaches rolling their eyes. Last season in Utah, Horton-Tucker started the season as the team’s starting point guard, but that only lasted eight games before Will Hardy pulled the plug. THT averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 assists in the 51 games he played, but shot below 40% from the field – he had a poor 50.3 true shooting percentage – and his decision making with the ball often kept him glued to the bench.
Maybe that’s changing back home in Chicago.
