Malcolm

Hill

Hill had a 10-day deal with the Pels, but he’ll stick with the team on a new two-way contract. Hill is a nice depth option for a Pelicans team that always seems to be dealing with injuries, but there are far too many guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Hill isn’t worth adding even in deep fantasy leagues.

Hill has played well for the Pelicans’ G League affiliate recently, and his apparent reward is a stint with the parent club. With the Birmingham Squadron, he has averaged 24.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 3.4 3-pointers, shooting 52.1% from the field and 92.1% from the foul line. Hill’s addition to the roster is unlikely to impact fantasy basketball, but he’s a capable perimeter shooter with good size for a wing.

Tee Swizzle logged a healthy 21.6 minutes per contest as a rookie, but he’s all but fallen out of Indiana’s rotation in Year 2. In Taylor, the Pacers get a guy who can play guard, forward and yes - even some small ball center. He’s not likely to see enough playing time to warrant fantasy consideration in most formats, but he’ll provide some nice depth and versatility for a Bulls team looking to make a playoff appearance. The Pacers waived Malcolm Hill in a subsequent move.

The two-way deal means that Hill will spend most of his season with Chicago’s G League affiliate, so there’s no reason to pay him any mind in fantasy hoops.

Hill has a bit of NBA experience under his belt, so seeing him hoop like he did this evening and average double figures in the scoring column this Summer League shouldn’t be too shocking. He and Marko Simonovic (26/7/0/1/1) were the best Bulls in the SL finale, and Simonovic has been even better and is coming off a 17-point, 13-board double-double on Thursday. Like Hill, Simonovic has some NBA experience, but the depth chart in Chicago doesn’t look much different than last season, meaning neither guy is an attractive fantasy option at the moment.

Gotta love Summer League overtime, right? Simonovic sent the game to an overtime period with a two-handed dunk, converted on an and-one fastbreak layup in overtime, then made a clutch free throw with 0.7 seconds left to officially get the job done. While most eyes were likely going to be on newly drafted Dalen Terry, Simonovic impressed the most and led the team in most statistical categories. He’s coming off of one NBA season in which he played nine games for the Bulls, but things may not be much better next season with Nikola Vučević still a Bull and the team signing Andre Drummond to back him up next season. Terry tallied a 9/5/6 line with a block but did turn it over six times, but he had some very impressive moments on the defensive end, while Malcolm Hill dropped in 18 points with six boards and a pair of triples.

Hill played 18 minutes in Saturday’s game against Boston, and scored 5 points with one rebound, and one assist. It appears that he did enough to earn himself a spot on the roster for the remainder of the season, and with Zach LaVine (knee) on the sidelines, he could continue to get some minutes. Not enough minutes to become fantasy relevant though.

With Alex Caruso (protocols) still sidelined and Derrick Jones Jr. (right knee) set to miss 4-6 weeks, the Bulls were in need of another option on the wing. Enter Hill, who agreed to a 10-day contract with the Hawks last month. The former Illinois standout appeared in three games for the Hawks before entering health and safety protocols, averaging 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 1.0 3-pointers in 15.3 minutes per game.

Hill’s 10-day deal is set to expire, so it’s likely that the Hawks just won’t pick him up on a second one. Hill has been an excellent add for Atlanta, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, three steals and a block in his last game. It’s bad timing for Hill, but with the rate at which players are entering protocols, it won’t be long before another team gives him a shot.

Hill has averaged 16.8 points for Birmingham in the G-League this season. He joins a Hawks team that is still missing De’Andre Hunter (wrist) and lost their star Trae Young recently to protocols. Hill could end up getting some minutes to provide some scoring from the wing.