2019 NBA free agency: 5 potential landing spots for Shaun Livingston

3. Chicago Bulls

While improved, the Chicago Bulls aren’t title contenders like the other teams on this list. Chicago is already guard-heavy and Livingston would struggle to find minutes on a team that demoted Robin Lopez to find time for the young talent.

Chicago isn’t a practical destination. It’s a feel-good place for Livingston to end his career after growing up about two hours south in Peoria, Illinois.

In Chicago, Livingston is a well-known basketball player. He’s a legend in downstate Illinois, specifically in the Peoria area. That’s prime Bulls country. Livingston is, unquestionably, the best high school basketball player in downstate Illinois’ history.

He sits near top the of the storied Illinois high school basketball hierarchy, probably next to the likes of Derrick Rose and Kevin Garnett. He was the state’s LeBron James in the early 2000s, winning back-to-back state titles in 2003 and 2004. The hype was real when the Los Angeles Clippers selected him fourth overall in 2004.

Livingston returning to the state where he won Mr. Basketball would be a perfect end to his playing career. He’d be embraced in Chicago, attracting fans from downstate to the United Center. There aren’t many 10th or 11th guys on a roster with that kind of pull.

Plus, he’d be a solid mentor to an extremely young backcourt. If you look at it that way, he fits in nicely.