Chicago Bulls recall point guard Marquis Teague from the D-League

Nov 27, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Marquis Teague (25) drives to the basket as Detroit Pistons point guard Will Bynum (12) defends him during the second quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

On Wednesday afternoon, the Chicago Bulls announced that they were bringing back Marquis Teague from the D-League, in order to add some depth to their shallow bench.

#Bulls formally announce the team has recalled guard Marquis Teague from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League (D-League)
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 4, 2013

On the surface, this is a “no-brainer” move that wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) get a ton of national coverage. However, what makes this particular transaction interesting is that Teague was just sent to Iowa on Tuesday.

Even with Derrick Rose out to injury, the Bulls have sent second-year point guard Marquis Teague to D-League Iowa.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 3, 2013

The fact that Teague was even sent to Iowa in the wake of Derrick Rose’s season-ending injury is shocking, but the decision by the Bulls to immediately bring him back isn’t quite as puzzling as it appears. Backup point guard Mike James went down with an injury to facilitate the recall, and it seems to be a pure “desperation move” to bring Teague back.

In 9 games this season, Teague is shooting just 16.7% from the field (not a misprint) and is averaging 1.0 turnovers per game versus just 0.8 assists per contest to result in a staggering -7.92 PER that represents the worst in the league for players who have played at least 50 minutes. The numbers aren’t much better for his career, either, as Teague has posted just a 34.3% field goal percentage over two seasons, and he’s struggled mightily in all phases.

Teague has to play some real minutes, now, and this is going to be very interesting.

Home/Chicago Bulls