Barring an unforeseen trade, Garrett Temple will likely represent the Bulls’ most significant non-draft acquisition of the 2020 offseason. Temple, a 34-year old guard who’s split time with eight teams across 10 NBA seasons, agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the team on Friday.
The natural follow-up: What -- and who -- are the Bulls getting in Temple? On the court, the move could prove a stabilizer on the wing. Temple is a solid, hard-working defender, capable passer and career 34.7 percent 3-point shooter (37.5 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-point jumpers since 2013-14, when NBA.com began tracking such figures).
And off the floor, Temple, who also serves as a vice president of the players union, is widely lauded as both a consummate professional and phenomenal teammate -- two crucial attributes stepping into a locker room that enters this season among the youngest in the league.
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In fact, speaking on an NBC Sports Washington broadcast in August, Wizards guard Bradley Beal called Temple “the greatest teammate I’ve ever had.”
“He's a true brother to me, a true mentor, Beal said. “I always credit him for teaching me how to be a true professional in the game of basketball and in the NBA.”
Beal and Temple were teammates in the nation’s capital for four seasons from 2012-2016 -- incidentally, Beal’s first four seasons in the NBA after being drafted third overall in 2012.
Along with crediting him for guiding him as a professional, Beal lauded Temple’s defensive prowess in the same interview.
NBA
“One thing I know that when I play against him, I'm gonna get his best," Beal said. "He's one of the greatest defenders in the league, so that's where the fun comes in because he thinks he knows my moves, but he doesn't.”
Regardless of whether the recruiting package the Bulls are slowly assembling for Beal -- signing Temple, plus hiring his college coach Billy Donovan in one offseason? Kidding, of course -- doesn’t bear fruit, it seems the Bulls got a good one in Temple.