Bulls Audition Reggie Williams

Swingman Reggie Williams had his second workout for the Bulls today, a source tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The report doesn’t indicate that a signing is imminent, though the Bulls could be without Derrick Rose for a while with a minor injury to his right hamstring, so perhaps Chicago is searching for depth. The Bulls are carrying the minimum 13 players on their roster.

Williams was a victim of a numbers crunch in Houston, where the Rockets cut his 50% guaranteed contract at the end of the preseason to get under the 15-man roster limit. He’s played in the NBA each of the past four seasons, but his scoring average has decreased each year since he broke into the Association with 15.2 points per game as a late-season addition for the Warriors in 2009/10. He shot 40.5% from three-point range in each of his two seasons with Golden State, and just 30.7% from behind the arc the past two years with the Bobcats.

Chicago is roughly $8MM above the luxury tax threshold, so if the team signs Williams or anyone else, the Bulls would be subject to paying more in tax than they’d pay the player if they don’t dump salary before the end of the season. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has traditionally avoided the tax, having paid it for the first time last season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the team is just lining up Williams as a contingency plan in case there’s a pressing need, though that’s just my speculation.

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