Heat free agent Derrick Walton Jr. signs with Bulls
MIAMI — Former Miami Heat guard Derrick Walton Jr. has signed with the Chicago Bulls, the Bulls announced Tuesday.
Walton, who went undrafted out of Michigan in 2017, spent last season with the Heat on a two-way contract, appearing in 16 games for the Heat and 27 with the Heat’s developmental-league affiliate, the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Walton began the offseason as a restricted free agent, with the Heat retaining the right to match outside offers. The Heat then withdrew Walton’s qualifying offer amid his shooting struggles during summer league, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Of the seven Heat players who began the offseason as free agents, the only three who remain unsigned are Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem and Luke Babbitt. Wayne Ellington and Derrick Jones re-signed with the Heat, with Walton joining the Bulls and Jordan Mickey signing to play in Russia.
Teams are allowed to carry up to two players on two-way contracts, with the Heat filling those slots with undrafted summer-league standouts Duncan Robinson, the forward out of Michigan, and Yante Maten,
the forward out of Georgia. The slots were held last season first by Walton and undrafted Central Florida 3-point specialist Matt Williams Jr., who then lost that spot in favor of Jones. Jones since has signed a standard contract.
Walton faces considerable odds with the Bulls, who have point guards Kris Dunn, Cameron Payne and Ryan Arcidiacono under contract. Walton could find himself competing for a two-way contract with Arcidiacono and Antonius Cleveland, with Rawle Alkins already signed to one of the Bulls’ two-way deals.
Walton averaged 1.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9.2 minutes per game last season with the Heat, including a seasonhigh seven points and five assists in a victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 16.1 points, 7.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.48 steals in 32.4 minutes per game in the G League.
The 6-foot-1 Detroit native played four seasons at Michigan, where he averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.15 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. He is the only player in Wolverine history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in his career.