Bulls Rumors: Alfonzo McKinnie Waived to Make Room for Tristan Thompson Signing

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The Chicago Bulls are waiving forward Alfonzo McKinnie to make room for their signing of center Tristan Thompson, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

The 29-year-old McKinnie, who has played five NBA seasons, averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.1 minutes over 17 games for the Bulls this year.

Per Charania, he’s eligible to sign with a new team and participate in the playoffs.

Per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype, March 1 is the cutoff date for when waived players can participate in the postseason if they sign with a new team.

McKinnie has played for the Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Bulls during his five-year career. He’s scored 4.0 points on 46.7 percent shooting in 11.6 minutes per game during that span.

The former University of Wisconsin–Green Bay forward went undrafted in 2015. He played in Luxembourg and Mexico before landing a deal with the G League’s Windy City Bulls in 2016. One year later, McKinnie broke through to the NBA with the Raptors.

He bounced around the NBA and was eventually waived by the Lakers in 2021. McKinnie went back to the G League and Mexico simultaneously when he linked up with Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico.

He averaged 24.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 10 games before the Bulls signed McKinnie to a 10-day contract amid Chicago losing five players to the league’s health and safety protocols in December.

McKinnie, who was born and raised in Chicago, landed another 10-day deal before the Bulls signed him for the remainder of the season. However, the Thompson move has changed plans, and now McKinnie will be looking for another place to play ball.