'Who wouldn't want to be here?' Ex-Cat Dalen Terry thrilled to be with Bulls

After infusing the Arizona Wildcats with personality for two seasons, Dalen Terry is off to a pretty good start in Chicago.

While taking a break from his rowdy draft night party in Scottsdale, setting up a Zoom interview from the parking lot at the adjacent Holiday Inn Express, Terry leapt into the camera by repeatedly asking the Chicago media “How ya doing! How ya doing!” He then talked about how much he’d been watching Bulls videos, how much he wanted to be drafted by the Bulls and how he’ll do anything to win.

After all that, veteran Bulls reporter Sam Smith wrote that Terry was “seemingly the most enthusiastic and engaged any Bulls draft prospect has been in these awkward post-draft phone sessions since Reggie Theus in 1978.”

Visiting media in person on Monday in Chicago, Terry was more subdued but spoke repeatedly about his competitiveness and desire to do whatever the Bulls ask from here on out.

“Who wouldn’t want to be here?” Terry said.

Terry also did an in-house interview in which he explained he chose No. 25 for his jersey for two reasons: To honor Chicago Simeon High legend Ben Wilson, who was shot and killed in 1984, and because Warriors coach Steve Kerr also wore No. 25 when he played for Arizona and the Michael Jordan-era Bulls. (Terry was unable to pick the No. 4 he wore at UA because the Bulls retired it to honor Jerry Sloan).

"Me being an Arizona Wildcat, Steve Kerr wore 25 here, too," Terry said. "Just paying homage to those two guys.”

Here’s a look at what’s ahead for Terry, with comments from his Scottsdale and Chicago media conferences:

Salary slot: $2.62 million in 2022-23, $2.76 million in 2023-24. Rookies drafted in first round receive two-year guaranteed contracts that are often raised to the maximum 20% more than their slot, meaning Terry will likely earn nearly $6.5 million over his first two season.

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Joined by: The Bulls did not have another draft pick in 2022 but signed Marquette forward Justin Lewis to a two-way contract and reportedly also signed DePaul guard Javon Freeman-Liberty to join Terry on their summer-league team.

Potential fit: The do-everything Terry played every position except center at times at Arizona, and his role is expected to be nearly as fluid in Chicago. The Bulls also have flexibility to be patient with Terry, who won't turn 20 until next month: They already have a guard/forward DeMar DeRozan plus a core of proven guards such as Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, Coby White and Alex Caruso — and have expressed a strong desire to keep LaVine as he enters free agency next month. Still, there are lingering concerns about the health of Ball, who had knee surgery in January.

Eversley says: “We had an opportunity to watch him and scout him numerous times at Arizona this year and came away very impressed with him as a player and as a teammate. We really saw him as somebody who could fit with what we're building here.

“He's gonna bring versatility on both ends of the floor. Defensively, I think he's gonna be able to switch one (point guard) through three (small forward). I think offensively he's gonna get out and run. I think early on last year, we had a lot of success when we created turnovers defensively and got out and ran. I think he’s somebody who's going to be able to do that for us. He's a capable 3-point shooter. I wouldn't call him a 3-point shooter. But with his makeup … he just brings in energy and a vibe that I think is gonna fit really well. He competes. He plays hard. He brings energy.”

Bulls coach Billy Donovan says: “There’s a lot to Dalen. What I mean by that is he's obviously very gifted, very talented, very athletic but I do think that there's a component to his competitiveness and his willingness to want to work and to get better and try to do whatever he can. When you have that kind of mentality, you're only going to get better.

“We feel pretty confident that in the environment here, especially with his work ethic, that he's just going to continue to grow. The one thing I told him is playing 82 games — the season is so long — that the one thing he cannot lose is his enthusiasm, his energy and his passion, his love for the game.”

Terry says: “My defense, my versatility, is gonna come over immediately, my energy, my leadership, all the things that just made me who I am. I also believe I need to work on my off-the-dribble shooting. I feel like my catch-and-shooting has gotten there. But I’ve gotta work on (off-the-dribble shooting), getting stronger and just growing up. i'm 19 years old right now and I just gotta go quick.

“I fit in perfectly. I'm a lengthy guard. I’m willing to do anything. Honestly, I watched so much DeMar DeRozan this year it's crazy. Him just getting into his spots. Zach LaVine, smoothest player ever. … It's good. Man, everything is just `wow.’ ”