When the Bulls ceased ties with the Developmental League's Iowa Energy in 2014, hardly anyone took notice.
The Bulls hadn't assigned or recalled a player from the team since 2011, when second-year forward James Johnson was reassigned to the team. The closest general manager Gar Forman and the Bulls came in 2013, when first-round bust Marquis Teague was scheduled to be sent to Iowa before an injury to Mike James necessitated the Bulls keeping an additional point guard on the roster.
Cutting ties with Iowa marked a seven-year stretch in which the Bulls assigned just five players to Iowa a total of seven times, including draft picks in Johnson and JamesOn Curry, the latter twice during the 2007-08 season.