Talen Horton-Tucker is headed back home to Chicago, although probably to the Windy City Bulls and not the big club.
Horton-Tucker agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with Chicago, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic and confirmed by K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. An Exibit 10 contract means the player is invited to training camp and, if he does not make the main roster, he can get 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 — plus 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 that Horton-Tucker and Kenneth Lofton Jr. will be battling for.
Horton-Tucker attended Simeon Career Academy, a high school on Chicago’s South Side, before heading off to college at Iowa State. The explosive 6’4″ guard was a second-round pick of the Magic who was traded draft night 2019 to the Los Angeles Lakers. THT became part of Lakers’ lore 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 would not put him in the deal. A year later, Horton-Tucker’s stock had fallen far enough that he was traded to Utah as part of a package to bring in Patrick Beverley.
Horton-Tucker’s athleticism is not in question — during training camp and preseason, Bulls’ fans can expect a few eye-popping plays — but his decision-making, particularly his shot choices, have fans and coaches rolling their eyes. Last season in Utah, Horton-Tucker began the season as the team’s starting point guard, but that lasted just 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 changes back home in Chicago.
