Former Bulls center ditches NBA for new deal with Italian club

Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Bulls center ditches NBA for new deal with Italian club image

A former Chicago Bulls big man has moved on from the NBA this summer, opting to ink a new contract with an Italian EuroLeague club.

The Trapani Sharks signed former two-way Bulls power forward/center Adama Sanogo, per a press release from the club.

Sanogo was a star for the University of Connecticut Huskies, winning an NCAA title in 2022-23 before declaring for the draft. He went unselected, but quickly agreed to a two-way contract with Chicago. Sanogo mostly played for the Bulls' G League squad, the Windy City Bulls, during his two seasons with the team.

The 6-foot-9 pro, still just 23, appeared sparingly for Chicago proper, averaging 3.4 points on 52.9% field goal shooting and 66.7% free throw shooting and 3.2 rebounds in 13 healthy contests.

In 29 bouts with Windy City during the 2023-24 season, Sanogo averaged 22.0 points on 62.2% shooting from the floor and 73.3% shooting from the charity stripe, 12.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.7 steals a night. He was named to both the All-NBAGL Third Team and the NBAGL All-Rookie Team that year.

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Last season, Sanogo had a more limited role for the Windy City Bulls, averaging 16.2 points on .524/.417/.750 shooting splits, 9.9 boards, 1.4 dimes, 1.1 rejections and 0.7 swipes per.

Sharks team president Valerio Antonini initially broke the news on his official X account.

"ADAMA is coming!!!!! I managed to convince him!" Antonini wrote. "A TOP profile is arriving to complete a fantastic team, much more complete than last year and certainly with young players eager to win. We’ve replaced great elements with great prospects. Now we’re ready…. WELCOME ADAMA!"

 

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Alex Kirschenbaum

Alex Kirschenbaum is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He grew up a devout Bulls fan, but his hoops fanaticism now extends to non-Bulls teams in adulthood. Currently also a scribe for Hoops Rumors, Athlon Sports and "Small Soldiers" director Joe Dante's film site Trailers From Hell, Alex is an alum of Sports Illustrated's On SI fan sites, Newsweek, Men's Journal, Grizzlies fan site Grizzly Bear Blues, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain't Easy, among others.