Chicago Bulls: Takeaways from the Diamond Stone signing
The Chicago Bulls have recently signed big man Diamond Stone to a partially guaranteed contract, bringing the roster to 15.
Despite Nikola Mirotic still remaining a question mark, the Chicago Bulls‘ roster is growing.
Most recently, by way of Diamond Stone; a great move just based on his name alone.
A 6’11” center out of the University of Maryland, Stone spent only one year playing college ball, having averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game.
During this time, he was named the AP Big Ten Newcomer of the Year and set a freshman record when he scored 39 points against Pennsylvania State University.
Unfortunately, however, the Wisconsin-native has had a lackluster start to his professional career.
Drafted No. 40 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016, Stone was shortly thereafter traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He appeared in just seven games for them though, averaging 1.4 points and 0.9 rebounds per match in 3.4 minutes of play. The rest of his time in the NBA was spent in the G League.
But the 20-year-old has still showed promise. During his G League Stint, Stone averaged 16.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest in 13 games. And this summer with the Atlanta Hawks’ NBA Summer League team, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game in Las Vegas, doing a little bit of work on both ends of the floor.
So what does his future look like in Chicago?
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Well, because the big man was signed to a two-year, partially guaranteed contract, he is assured playing time with either the Bulls or their G League affiliate (the Windy City Bulls). This is good news for Stone, given that Chicago already has three similar players under contract in Cristiano Felicio, Robin Lopez and Lauri Markkanen.
Still, this could very well mark the start of a new beginning for Stone.
If he does make the Bulls’ final roster, it gives the team even more of a reason to trade Lopez, who does not necessarily fit their rebuild as it is. He would then be free to develop with a group of other young players with potential, perhaps serving as a backup to Felicio.
But even if he ends up in the G League, at least he has a place to call home for a couple seasons. Stone certainly seems to have what it takes to grow into a consistent talent, but has not exactly had stability in his career since being drafted a year ago.
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It may be a while until the Chicago Bulls taste success once more, but one cannot say the organization is not going to work on making moves. So welcome aboard, Diamond Stone.