The Chicago Bulls were looking at undrafted rookie free agent Justin Lewis to be a possible backup for power forward Patrick Williams. Bad news for Lewis broke Thursday evening. Lewis has a two-way contract with the Bulls.
Lewis sustained a knee injury in the NBA Summer League, per multiple reports. Per K.C. Johnson with NBC Sports, the Bulls fear the injury could be a torn ACL. Per the Report:
Justin Lewis, an undrafted free agent whom the Chicago Bulls immediately moved to sign to a two-way contract, has suffered a knee injury and there is concern it could be diagnosed as a torn ACL, per sources.
The Marquette University product suffered the injury during an offseason workout away from the team after playing for the Bulls at NBA Summer League. The forward averaged 7.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks over 22.5 minutes while in Las Vegas.
The Bulls verbally agreed to a two-way deal with Lewis, a 6-foot-7-inch, 235-pound forward, on the same June 23 night that—surprisingly—no team selected him in the NBA draft. The Bulls then officially announced the deal on July 7.
Lewis could have been a steal for the Bulls if he was able to make good progress this summer. An ACL would be an awful injury for the rookie. Let’s hope the early prognostication is wrong.
This is another setback for the Bulls healthwise. They struggled to keep their roster in good shape last season. The team got good news earlier this week that Lonzo Ball could be returning for the season opener. But Lewis’s news is unfortunate for a team that was needing depth at the power forward position.
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