Jabari Parker loves Chicago. That’s not a statement made to deliberately add a touch of melodrama to the forward signing with the Chicago Bulls. It’s just what it is. Parker is born and raised in Chicago.

He and the Bulls are just the perfect match for each other, and it did not seem that he made it hard for the team to convince him to come to Windy City and play basketball there – again. All it really took for the Bulls was to show interest in Parker, and when they did, the talented swingman reciprocated it with ink on paper, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

“This is where he wanted to be,” said Sonny Parker, Jabari’s father. “He didn’t get drafted here. But this is where he wanted to be.”

“It was a few other teams that made a pitch, but as soon as I heard Chicago I had to jump on it because I knew their eagerness and my eagerness. It just matched.”

Parker entered July as a restricted free agent, but when the Bulls’ offer came, the Milwaukee Bucks did not make a concerted effort to match it, allowing Chicago to sign one of the city’s own.

Indeed, Parker hooked up with the Bulls after inking a two-year deal worth $40 million. In Chicago, Parker can continue resuscitating his career that has been abrupted twice by torn ACLs. He played in only 31 games last year after spending most of the season recovering from a knee injury, but over that short course of action, he was able to show how capable he is in contributing to his team when healthy. He averaged 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game in his final season with the Bucks.