We tend to view summer league primarily through the prism of its highest-profile prospects. The top picks in the most recent NBA Draft show off their skills in Las Vegas for the first time as pros, but those players make up only a small percentage of the total summer league package. For the most part, roster spots are given to players on the fringes. G-Leaguers, undrafted free agents, anyone desperate to prove themselves worthy of one last shot in the NBA. On Sunday, one such player got his chance.
The Chicago Bulls have agreed to sign DJ Steward to a two-way contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Steward, a Chicago native, has floated all over the lower-level professional basketball circuit over the past few years. After going undrafted as a Duke one-and-done player, Steward played in the G-League for the Stockton Kings before moving up north and spending time with the Vancouver Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He returned to the G-League afterward to play for the Maine Celtics.
Steward has been a standout for the Bulls in Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 19.3 points per game thus far. On Friday, he scored 37 points in an overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Bulls have apparently been impressed enough to give him a chance to prove himself in Chicago next season.
Two-way players still face an uphill battle in building long-term NBA careers, but summer league exists in part to help players like Steward give themselves such a chance. He probably won’t play too much for the Bulls at least early on, but this is a rebuilding team that is going to be desperate for offense wherever it can find it. He’s made the most of his summer league opportunity with the Bulls, and now he’ll have the chance to do the same against real competition.
