Kay Felder Reportedly Claimed by Bulls After Cavaliers Trade, Hawks Release

Kay Felder is headed to the Chicago Bulls after the team claimed the second-year point guard off waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical.

Felder was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Atlanta Hawks this week alongside Richard Jefferson and two future second-round picks. The Hawks waived both players on Saturday.

Center Diamond Stone and forward Jarell Eddie were waived to make room for the point guard and set the 15-man roster, per Charania.

Felder, who was a third-team All-American at Oakland, was taken by the Cavs in the second round of the 2016 draft. He was expected to play a significant role as a backup point guard behind Kyrie Irving, but struggled to get consistent playing time during his rookie season.

He appeared in 42 games, averaging 4.0 points, 1.4 assists and just 9.2 minutes per game.

His inability to lead the second unit forced Cleveland to bring in Deron Williams last year and then Derrick Rose during the offseason. Even after trading away Irving, he clearly wasn't worth keeping on the roster.

On the other hand, he could provide some much-needed depth in the backcourt for Chicago with Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Cameron Payne dealing with injuries. Jerian Grant should get the majority of minutes at point guard at the start of the year, but Felder has a clear path to playing time.

After the 5'9" guard averaged 15.5 points per 36 minutes last season, he has a chance to be a valuable contributor to the Bulls in 2017-18.