For the second time in the month of February, two Canadian NBA basketball players have changed teams. On Saturday, the Chicago Bulls signed Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ontario after he was waived on February 17 by the Indiana Pacers. Thompson was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Pacers on February 8 with Tyrese Hailburton and Buddy Hield for Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, Domantas Sabonis and a second round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Meanwhile, on February 9, the Utah Jazz acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Toronto, Ontario from the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal only one day after Alexander-Walker was traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Trail Blazers.
Thompson is joining his fifth NBA team. In addition to playing for the Kings and Pacers, he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. While with the Cavaliers in 2016, Thompson won the NBA Finals.
Alexander-Walker meanwhile played three seasons for the Pelicans before the trades he was involved in this month. In 2021-22, Alexander-Walker averaged 12.8 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, and had a field goal percentage of .375, a three-point percentage of .311, and a free throw percentage of .722 in 50 games with the Pelicans. With Utah, expect Alexander-Walker to be coming off the bench more, as the Jazz are more of a veteran team that is built to win now.
