Terry more focused on improving than role as rookie originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It’s a big day for Chicago Bulls rookie Dalen Terry.
Albeit unofficial, the 20-year-old plays in his first NBA game Tuesday night when the Bulls host the New Orleans Pelicans for each teams’ preseason opener.
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“Honestly it hasn't even hit me yet. I was asking somebody earlier: ‘Is this my first NBA game or not?’ I guess it is,” Terry said with a smile after the Bulls’ morning shootaround. “I'm happy. I've been dreaming about this all my life. But it's just another basketball game.”
Terry, the 18th pick in the 2022 draft, impressed in four Summer League appearances this year before leaving the fifth with an ankle injury. He averaged 11.8 points, shot 57.6 percent from the field, and on a game-by-game basis supplied the brand of active perimeter defense promised in his predraft profile.
Since then, he says he has improved his strength, pace and ability to read the game to contribute in small ways like cutting and rebounding.
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“It’s really the little things that separates this (the NBA) from college,” he said.
Terry has also stood out in training camp, at least to Zach LaVine. Both for his evident energy, on and off the court, and also for the skill versatility that attracted the Bulls to him.
“He's a hell of a passer and like a swiss army knife. Rebound and no-look pass. Plays multiple positions on defense,” LaVine said after a recent practice. “He’s like a swiss army knife to you just put him in there and he can do different things.
“Obviously he’s young and he’s gonna have to go through every rookie up and down just like everybody. He brings a great attitude to the locker room, I think that’s very important.”
While Terry’s role with the Bulls is unclear entering his rookie season — the team’s guard room is plenty crowded — preseason offers an opportunity to showcase his offseason improvements. And as Ayo Dosunmu learned last year, injuries can create unexpected chances to contribute that every young player must be ready for.
Given Terry’s station, Dosunmu is a good brain to pick. To hear Terry tell it, he has.
“When I got a chance to talk to him for real, during this summer, we talked about it,” Terry said of Dosunmu’s rise from the end of the bench to a steady rotation role as a rookie in 2021-22. “He gives me tips every day. He's actually one of the guys on the team that talks to me the most, just talks me through stuff. I give credit to him, because I watched the Bulls last year and I saw what he did and how he went from playing nothing to a lot.”
Beyond preseason action is too far for a rookie to think. And Terry insists his focus is more on improving every day than his minutes allotment. While there have been no conversations of the sort as of now, the rookie even noted he would be open to getting reps with the Bulls’ G League affiliate during the season if that is what the team’s front office and coaching staff deem best for his development.
While he reiterated his draft night sentiment that his energy and defense will translate to the pros quickly, Terry's 3-point shooting remains a work in progress. He converted 36.4 percent from beyond the arc on just 2.1 attempts per game in his last season at Arizona, then hit three of seven total attempts (42.9 percent) in Summer League.
“I’m a gamer at the end of the day, honestly. I know how hard I work at the 3-point shot and on the game in general,” Terry said. “I’m gonna trust my work.”
For now, while Terry said Bulls coach Billy Donovan has not conveyed to him an exact expectation for his minutes in the preseason, he will be ready to jump into the fray whenever — and for however long — he is called upon.
His mentality?
“Do whatever I can do to stay on the floor,” he said. “If Coach (Donovan) says he needs me to play defense and not even shoot the ball, that’s what he needs me to do. If he tells me I need to go out there and try to score the ball and do little things and all that, I’ll do that too. It’s just whatever they ask of me is what I’m gonna try to do.”
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