Excuse Me? Chicago Bulls' Trentyn Flowers Reportedly Drawing NCAA Interest

A new report suggests that college teams are trying to get their hands on the Chicago Bulls' Trentyn Flowers, but will the NCAA allow it?

Apr 11, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Trentyn Flowers (9) before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bulls could lose one of their two-way players in a shocking fashion.

According to Joe Tipton of On3 Sports, Trentyn Flowers is currently drawing interest from a handful of the top NCAA programs. The wing signed a two-way deal with Chicago shortly before the season tipped off.

He previously spent time with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he appeared in six regular-season games. Flowers has also touched an NBA court twice this season and even scored 4 points during the Bulls' December meeting with the Golden State Warriors.

Could Chicago Bulls' Trentyn Flowers Go to NCAA?

Sep 29, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Trentyn Flowers (9) photographed during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The head-scratching news comes shortly after the Baylor Bears made headlines for signing James Nnaji. He is a former No. 31 overall pick 2023 NBA Draft, who most recently played professionally overseas. Granting Nnaji's eligibility is a seemingly unprecedented move that has allowed teams to rethink what is possible.

For what it's worth, unlike Nnaji, Flowers has suited up in multiple NBA games and has signifcant experience in the G League. The 20-year-old averaged 20.0 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Clippers' G League affiliate just last season. And he's also fresh off averaging nearly 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in the G League tip-off tournament over the last couple of weeks.

It is important to note that Flower has never appeared in a college game. While he was initially committed to Louisville and considered among the top recruits in the country, Flowers opted to play overseas in Australia before going undrafted in 2024 and bouncing around the NBA. Nevertheless, once a player enters the NBA system, they have typically been considered unable to play the college game.

To be clear, this rule remains unbroken ... for now. The league has not granted Flowers eligibility, and he continues to be a part of the Chicago Bulls' system. Still, Tipton's report tells us that a handful of universities are hoping they can make this loophole work. And it's not necessarily hard to envision a player like Flowers having a legitimate interest in making the transition.

With NIL taking over the college sports world, high-level programs would be able to offer Flowers more money than he is currently receiving as a two-way player. He could also further improve his NBA stock by presumably becoming one of the top performers in the NCAA. Kentucky is one of the teams that has been specifically mentioned as wanting to make a run at Flowers.

At the same time, there is no question that he is closer to an NBA roster spot right now than he would be by choosing to enroll at a university. Again, he's already appeared in eight NBA games over his career, and the Bulls could be on the verge of a full trade deadline sell-off. If that does happen, Flowers may be clocking real minutes for the Bulls in the second half of this season.

With college basketball currently in its Wild West Era, it's genuinely hard to say where this story goes from here. While history suggests that Flowers' chance at a college career is over, the NCAA looks more and more like a professional league by the day.