Bulls add to the frontcourt by signing draft pick Paul Zipser

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Last week in Las Vegas, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg reiterated that come fall camp, there “will be a lot of competition for spots.’’

The team threw another name in the mix on Friday afternoon, announcing that they had signed forward Paul Zipser.

While terms of the deal were not released, the feeling when the Bulls drafted the 6-foot-8 22-year-old in the second round (48th overall) was that they would be able to get him signed in time to compete in this year’s camp.

Zipser has spent the previous four seasons with FC Bayern Munich in Germany’s top league, and was coming off a 2015-16 campaign in which he appeared in 20 games (EuroLeague and EuroCup combined), scoring 6.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 17.9 minutes per game. He also shot .495 from the field, .378 from behind the arc and .958 from the line.

A native of Heidelberg, Germany, Zipser has also represented his country at the 2010 U16 European Championship, 2011 U18 European Championship and 2012 U18 European Championship. He owns career FIBA averages of 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds.

General manager Gar Forman gushed about Zipser on draft night, calling him “a very good athlete,’’ and if he does want to win a spot in the rotation he better be.

The Bulls roster is looking very full right now, with Zipser having to compete with the likes of Doug McDermott, Tony Snell, Nikola Mirotic, and now even Jimmy Butler since the signing of Dwyane Wade has moved Butler from the two guard over to small forward.

Either way, Hoiberg likes the direction the team has gone this summer with all the additions, young and old.

“We kept the young core intact and we’ve got some really good veteran All-Star players in the trade, so it’s exciting,’’ Hoiberg said. “We’ve got the young guys who got a lot of experience, had the opportunity to go out there and play a lot of minutes.’’

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