Jabari Parker is back in the United Center playing basketball and he's smiling.
A powerful second quarter dunk in the face of Lauri Markkanen probably helped, as well.
I'm happy, I would say," Parker told reporters Saturday before his Wizards played his former team, the Bulls. "I haven't smiled in a while, but it's great."
It's not exactly the way Parker, a Chicago native, thought it would work out when he signed with the Bulls last July as a free agent. The one-time overall No. 2 NBA draft pick from Simeon High School and Duke had what was perhaps best described as a bizarre and unusual experience.