Bulls rookie Dalen Terry is poised to make sure he plays next season

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Dalen Terry wasn’t much concerned about making sure he was saying the right things on Sunday.

It was well past that point of the season for the Bulls rookie.

Half frustrated, half determined, Terry’s focus now was to make sure that what he’s gone through this year wasn’t about to be his fate heading into the 2023-24 campaign.

“I just know I ain’t going through this again,’’ Terry said.

That’s why the No. 18 overall pick said that he informed the team that he fully intended to play Summer League in Las Vegas for a second offseason, as well as anything else they needed him to do.

“I just want the chance to do whatever I need to do to get on the court next year,’’ Terry said. “So just the part of my development, like what does everybody want to see from me, as well as the expectations I have in myself. I know I want to come back a different player.’’

Asked specifically the parts of his game he felt he needed to work on to become a rotation guy rather than a regular fixture on the bench, Terry tried to be honest in his self-evaluation.

“I don’t believe I’m the perfect player or anything like that,’’ Terry said. “I feel like I’ve grown in a lot of different aspects, but in time I have to play and get some reps, just to see a little bit more.

“Shooting has always been the biggest area that people want me to grow in, and I feel like I took some strides. If I keep making those strides, I feel like it will be one more thing with a checked box that they say I can’t do. Just keep inching away at that this summer and prove why I should be on the court.’’

But it’s that shot that could be the issue, specifically the fundamentals of it.

Terry has a hitch in the way he twists his wrist as he’s releasing the ball, but there’s plenty of NBA players that have a shot that might not be aesthetically pleasing. However, they may have the numbers to ease those concerns.

Terry doesn’t.

In his two seasons with Arizona, he shot 32.6% from three in the 2020-21 year, and followed that up with shooting 36.4% last season.

In limited playing time this season, Terry was 6-for-19 (31.6%) from three-point range in the 33 appearances he has made.

“I feel like if that sh-t goes in, it goes in,’’ Terry said of the way his shot looked. “The way I shoot it has always been comfortable my whole life, and I’ve had moments where I’ve shot really, really good, I’ve had times where I’ve shot bad. It’s more of finding the way that I can keep it consistent and knock it down 40% of the time.’’

That’s why Terry might want to have a heart-to-heart with Lonzo Ball if the guard ever gets healthy. Ball came into the league with a funky looking delivery on his shot, hitting only 30.5% as a rookie. He eventually changed it, and by last season was a 42.3% shooter from long range.

 

Back-to-back issues

 

The Bulls have just one more back-to-back to deal with this season, and for a team that has its share of players currently dealing with their share of bumps and bruises, it could get tricky to navigate.

Especially when factoring in the importance of it, hosting Atlanta on Tuesday and then playing in Milwaukee a night later.

“After the Atlanta game there will be a very big discussion with medical and those guys to see how they’re feeling,’’ Donovan said. “But we haven’t predetermined, ‘Listen, we get to this back-to-back, this is what we’re doing.’ I think it’s going to be more of those guys obviously being involved in the decision as well.’’