Although they are stricken for cap space, the Chicago Bulls made some contract moves on Friday to ensure their bench depth.
Chicago picked up a third year option on Doug McDermott and a fourth year option on Tony Snell, placing both players under contract through 2016-2017.
McDermott has gotten off to a good start for the Bulls so far. The former first-round pick has been given more freedom in Fred Hoiberg's offense and is seeing a big spike in playing time. He has been a big contributor off the bench for Chicago, most recently scoring 12 points for the Bulls in their win over the Orlando Magic. He has shown some versatility this year as he is looking to become more of a pure scorer rather than just a catch-and-shoot type of player.
Snell has had a solid start to the season for Chicago as well. With Mike Dunleavy still out following a back injury, the young player has stepped in well for the Bulls. After struggling from three last year, Snell has also improved his shooting and will be getting more playing time even when Dunleavy comes back. He has been a decent defender for Chicago and tuning his offensive game will be the next step from the former New Mexico man.
Both Snell and McDermott will see a lot more minutes coming off the bench than they have in years prior. Hoiberg has made it a priority to utilize the depth of Chicago and make it more offensive friendly. Snell and McDermott will benefit from this greatly as they, along with Nikola Mirotic, will be benefitting from the increased three-point attempts by Chicago this year.
Picking up the options of both McDermott and Snell could be smart moves down the future as both have gotten off to strong starts this season and could be key players for Chicago come later on in the season.