Bulls Rumors: Derrick Jones Jr. Agrees to 2-Year, $6.6M Contract with Chicago

Derrick Jones Jr. and the Chicago Bulls are extending their partnership.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the 25-year-old has agreed to a two-year, $6.6 million deal to remain with the Bulls.

The Bulls acquired Jones and draft picks in a three-team sign-and-trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers in August 2021. They were his third team in three seasons after he spent 2019-20 with the Miami Heat and 2020-21 with the Blazers.

The UNLV product fared well in his first season with Chicago, with head coach Billy Donovan using him primarily off the bench. He averaged 5.6 points and shot 53.8 percent from the field.

Injuries limited Jones to 51 games, though. He missed four weeks from Jan. 14 to Feb. 11 with a bone bruise in his knee and a fractured right index finger.

After making the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Bulls had several key roster decisions to make this offseason. Zach LaVine was the biggest, especially after he made it clear he intended to "enjoy free agency."

Jones and Tristan Thompson were Chicago's other unrestricted free agents, and retaining the former gives Donovan more depth to utilize next season as the Bulls look to improve on last season's 46-36 record.

There was one point, early in the season, when the Bulls were in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. But injuries decimated their roster in the second half, dropping them to the No. 6 seed. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jones isn't going to dramatically alter Chicago's fortunes next season, but he's a proven bench player who can provide scoring and length.