Getting to Know

Sam Smith

BIRTHDAY: July 23, 1993 (age 27)HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’4”, 205lbHOMETOWN: Petersburg, Virginia

CAREER THUS FAR: Swingman Javonte Green joins the Bulls alongside big man Daniel Theis after a trade deadline deal with Boston that saw the Bulls send Luke Kornet and just-acquired Mo Wagner to the Celtics. Green may just be in his second NBA season, but he’s an experienced professional. A four year college player at Radford (and the school’s all time leader in rebounds, steals and games played), Green went undrafted in 2015 and spent years playing in Europe, plying his trade in Spain, Italy and Germany before earning a contract with the Celtics after an impressive showing in the 2019 NBA Summer League.

Green has spent most of his short NBA career as a reserve, averaging just 11 minutes a game. However, on the court, he uses his elite athleticism to his advantage as a hard-charging slasher, a fierce dunker in the half court that has produced some jaw-dropping highlights in short minutes on the floor for the Celtics. Knowing Green has had to battle every step of his career – from not receiving any Division 1 basketball scholarship offers out of high school, to not getting drafted in the NBA, to needing to earn his way onto a roster through Summer League – fans can expect him to bring it every single opportunity he gets.

FUN FACT: Green was an elite quarterback prospect in high school, leading to offers for a football scholarship coming out of school – but no basketball offers from DI schools. Green earned a late offer from Radford after he sent a tape on his own to members of the Radford coaching staff.

Green is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Montengro and plays for the Montenegrin national team in international competitions.

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Getting to Know: Javonte Green

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Photo Gallery: Nikola Vucevic

BIRTHDAY: July 28, 1999 (age 21)HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’6”, 215lbHOMETOWN: Las Vegas, Nevada

CAREER THUS FAR: Third year swingman Troy Brown Jr. arrives in Chicago by way of Washington, where he’s spent the entirety of his young career as a Wizard after being drafted 15th overall in 2018 out of Oregon. Brown is an ultra-athletic forward who has seen his minutes – and as a result, his statistics – see a downturn in 2020-21 as he fell to the bottom of the Wizards rotation this season. He’ll look to get back on the court for the Bulls and get back to a form closer to the 2019-20 season, where he averaged over 10 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes a game. One of the more intriguing aspects of Brown’s game is his youth – despite being in his third professional season, he is still just 21 years old.

Brown brings a lot of skill every time he steps on the court – he has NBA size and athleticism, a great passing touch and court vision, and is a solid rebounder at his position. He’s a high motor player who flies around the court and isn’t afraid of contact, giving him an energy the Bulls are perhaps looking for. Though he hasn’t been a knockdown shooter in his brief NBA stint thus far, he’s a hard worker who still has time to develop. Look for the Bulls to give Brown a real look in their rotation to see if he’s a piece to be excited about long term.

FUN FACT: Brown has over 10,000 subscribers on his personal YouTube channel, which he’s used to publish videos ranging from streams of himself playing video games to a behind-the-scenes look at what the Orlando bubble was like in 2020.

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Getting to Know: Troy Brown Jr.

BIRTHDAY: April 4, 1992 (age 28)HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’8”, 245lbHOMETOWN: Salzgitter, Germany

CAREER THUS FAR: Center Daniel Theis comes to the Bulls following a trade deadline deal on Thursday afternoon, and Bulls fans should expect Theis to contribute in the team’s rotation immediately. Theis is a hard-playing center who lacks traditional size for a 5 but makes up for it with a determined and hard-nosed game. He’s by all accounts a great teammate and a steady presence in the middle, having played a contributing role for Celtics teams making deep playoff runs in the past four seasons.

Theis, in his 4th NBA season, has spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics after going undrafted in 2013 out of Germany. Theis was a star in the German League and has been a winner at every level he’s played, winning the German League championship three times in a row. He signed with Boston in July 2017 and immediately found himself contributing to a strong team.

Look for Theis to provide a hard-nosed inside presence with enough skill on the outside to keep defenses honest, as well giving the team a boost of energy when he’s out there on the court. Theis has spent his NBA career fitting in systems and finding ways to contribute with star players all around him, so Bulls fans can expect him to integrate himself nicely in the team’s new-look front court featuring Nikola Vucevic and Lauri Markkanen.

FUN FACT: Theis plays internationally for the German national team, and in his early years in the German domestic league he played alongside some high profile teammates, including the Lakers’ Dennis Schroder (from 2010-12 at SG Braunschweig) and Brad Wanamaker (from 2014-2016 at Brose Bamberg).

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Getting to Know: Daniel Theis

BIRTHDAY: September 21, 1990 (age 30)HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’8”, 220lbHOMETOWN: Atlanta, Georgia

CAREER THUS FAR: Versatile veteran Al-Farouq Aminu joins the Bulls alongside star big man Nikola Vucevic, marking his 6th NBA team in 11 seasons. The 30-year old brings playoff and big game experience to a young squad, having played an important role in playoff runs for the Portland Trail Blazers between 2015-2019. Aminu averaged over 17 points per game in four games in the 2017-18 playoffs, and was an important cog in the Blazers surprise 2019 Western Conference Finals run, starting 16 playoff games over that time and giving the Blazers a valuable presence at forward.

After leaving Portland as a free agent and signing with Orlando in July 2019, Aminu has struggled with injuries for the past two seasons, including a torn meniscus in his right knee. With his injury issues, Aminu only played in 35 games in 2 seasons with the Magic. However, after sitting out the first three months of the season, Aminu has worked his way back onto the court and comes to Chicago having started to round into form, playing more than 20 minutes in the last 12 Magic games.

Bulls fans can expect Aminu to bring an experienced presence for the team, a strong rebounder and defender for a forward and one who over the course of his career has been a difference maker on the defensive side of the ball. With his injury issues hopefully behind him, look for Aminu to be a helpful cog in this roster for the rest of the season.

FUN FACT: Aminu plays for the Nigerian national team. According to NBC Sports Northwest and Sports Illustrated, Aminu is a descendant from a line of Nigerian kings and his name translates to “The chief has arrived”.

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Getting to Know: Al-Farouq Aminu

BIRTHDAY: October 24, 1990 (age 30)HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’11”, 260 lbHOMETOWN: Morges, Switzerland

CAREER THUS FAR: With Thursday’s trade deadline deal with Orlando, the Bulls have picked up one of the top big men in the NBA, a two-time All-Star (including an All-Star nod this very season) and accomplished scorer who projects to make an immediate impact for the team on the court.

The Montenegrin veteran established himself as a star over the course of nine highly productive seasons with the Magic after spending his rookie year in Philadelphia. Vucevic comes in with averages of 24.5 points and 11.8 rebounds this season and career averages of 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds, a consistent double-double threat throughout his entire career. He’s a deadly shooter from long range, shooting over 40% from downtown on the season, putting him as the third most accurate 3pt shooter on this Bulls team, behind Zach LaVine and Tomas Satoransky. That doesn’t mean he’s afraid of the dirty work, though – Vucevic is elite on the boards, currently the 4th leading rebounder in the entire NBA.

He’s performed well on the big stage as well, leading the Magic to playoff appearances in their past two seasons. In last season’s first round playoff loss against Milwaukee, Vucevic stepped his game up and averaged 28 points and 11 rebounds over five games, going right at the NBA’s best regular season defense and giving his team a fighting chance throughout.

FUN FACT: The Bulls’ new star comes from basketball stock, with both his father and mother playing professional basketball and making appearances for the Yugoslavian national teams. A true man of the world, Vucevic was born in Switzerland due to his father playing for a Swiss club at the time, is fluent in French, Serbian and English, and holds dual citizenship with both Montenegro and Belgium.

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Getting to Know: Nikola Vucevic

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CAREER THUS FAR: Bulls fans got their first glimpse of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, acquired on February 1 from Oklahoma City, on Feb. 6 against the Pelicans, but the young shooting guard/small forward has had a winding road to Chicago. After beginning his career in France, Luwawu-Cabarrot spent the 2015-16 season playing for Serbian League club Mega Leks, helping the team win the Serbian Cup and being named to the All-Adriatic Basketball Association team at just 19 years old. His success propelled him into being the 24th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016.

Luwawu-Cabarrot flashed potential and saw decent floor time in his first two seasons with Philadelphia, averaging 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16 minutes a game in his two years there. He was sent to the Thunder in a three-team trade with Atlanta this past summer in a deal that also saw Dennis Schroder and Carmelo Anthony switch teams.  In his short time with Oklahoma City, Luwawu-Cabarrot didn't see much floor time, averaging just 5.9 minutes in 21 games .

Bulls fans should expect to get a good look at Luwawu-Cabarrot for the remainder of the season, as he projects to potentially see more floor time in Chicago than he did in Oklahoma City. With his rookie deal ending after this season, the Bulls will get an up close evaluation of how the Frenchman might fit into their plans moving forward.

FUN FACT:  Luwawu-Cabarrot's last name is the surnames of both his mother and father.

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Getting to know: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot

CAREER THUS FAR: Acquired on January 3 from the Grizzlies in a trade for Justin Holiday, Wayne Selden Jr. has already impressed in his short time in Chicago. The athletic third year shooting guard has quietly come in and shown a knack for getting buckets and playing good team basketball. In 15 games thus far as a Bull, he's shooting an impressive 43.8% from downtown as a Bulls, averaging 6.6 points per game in 21 minutes.

Selden was a decorated college player for the Kansas Jayhawks, being named to Second-Team All-Big 12 in his junior season and averaging 13.8 points per game for a team that went into the postseason as the country's Number 1 overall team before being upset in the Elite Eight by eventual champion Villanova (whose point guard at the time was his current teammate Ryan Arcidiacono).

Following his three seasons in college, Selden declared for the NBA but went undrafted. He wound up playing 35 games in 2016-17 for the Iowa Energy, the G-League affiliate of the Grizzlies, where he averaged 18.5 points in 30 minutes a game. He made his NBA debut in March of 2017 on a ten-day contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, ultimately getting picked up by Memphis on a multi-year deal later that same season. Selden even got to start for Memphis in their playoff matchup with San Antonio, getting valuable burn in big games.

Despite battling injury for much of the first half of 2017-18, Selden established himself as a true NBA player during that season and posted his best statistics to date. He averaged 9.3 points in just 19.8 minutes per game in 35 games for Memphis.

Selden, despite being on the team for just a month, has already established himself as a solid rotation player for this Bulls team, even chipping in a season-high 20 points in the team's January 30 win over the Miami Heat.

FUN FACT: In his three years at Kansas, Selden played alongside a number of recognizable teammates, including Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Perry Ellis.

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Getting to know: Wayne Selden Jr.

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