It’s not too often that a player who has clearly helped a team win gets waived. But that’s what happened Saturday to Mike James.
The Chicago Bulls decided four point guards were too many and waived James, an 11-year veteran with a championship ring who was signed out of the D-League earlier this month.
The Bulls had considerable injury issues at point guard when Derrick Rose and C.J. Watson both were sidelined. They first turned the reins over to John Lucas III but then signed James, who had not played in the NBA since 2010.
James played three games for Chicago, averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 assists in 8.0 minutes. The 36-year-old opened some eyes with nine points, 10 assists and a thorough understanding off the offense in a 95-89 win over Charlotte a week ago.
After that game, James said, “When you play with a team that really wants to make the extra pass for the next player and there is not a lot of selfishness on the team, you just have to blend in. You can’t be the lone wolf and think it’s all about you.”
Rose, Watson and Lucas are now all healthy, and Chicago (17-4) now has 13 players as it begins a nine-game road trip over 14 days that includes stops in Miami, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.