Hoops Habit
Fansided

Chicago Bulls: 2016 Offseason Grades

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 21, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21), center Joakim Noah (13), and guard Derrick Rose (1) during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at the United Center. The Bulls won 112-107. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21), center Joakim Noah (13), and guard Derrick Rose (1) during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at the United Center. The Bulls won 112-107. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
Chicago Bulls
Jul 10, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Denzel Valentine drives with the ball during an NBA Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Thomas & Mack Center. Chicago won the game 83-70. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /

The Draft

Reactions to Chicago’s draft night were mixed, and for good reason. No, not because of Denzel Valentine coming to the Windy City at No. 14 — because the Bulls made an intriguing trade offer to the Minnesota Timberwolves before Tom Thibodeau eventually passed.

On the one hand, the perceived value of trading Jimmy Butler still feels overblown. Trading Derrick Rose was a painful but necessary step to moving Chicago in the right direction; trading Jimmy Butler was not, especially for two unproven players.

As the new face of the franchise, Butler has big shoes to fill, even if Rose wasn’t healthy enough over the last four years to even wear his.

But Jimmy Buckets is already one of the best two-way wings in the NBA, he’s coming off the best season of his career at 20.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and games like his 53-point explosion emphatically proved he can carry the load offensively.

On the flip side, there have been frequent questions about Butler’s leadership, attitude, disposition and every other character-related synonym under the sun.

The Wolves’ rumored offer of the No. 5 pick — Kris Dunn — and Zach LaVine (or Ricky Rubio and Dunn) would’ve been an enticing haul to help the Bulls jumpstart their rebuild. After all, Butler is already 26 and what should’ve been his best shot at getting Chicago past LeBron James ended in an underwhelming 42-40 season and no playoff appearance.

Live Feed

Lakers steal Bulls last chance at a free agency splash
Lakers steal Bulls last chance at a free agency splash /

Pippen Ain't Easy

  • NBA rumors: Trae Young trade buzz, Andre Drummond is a comedian, Wemby and KAT team up FanSided
  • Grade the Trade: Bulls land star guard Trae Young in proposed deal Pippen Ain't Easy
  • Hall of Fame a real possibility for Bulls center Andre Drummond? Pippen Ain't Easy
  • Ranking Michael Jordan's 11 most iconic commercials of all-time Pippen Ain't Easy
  • These NBA stars might switch teams sooner rather than later All U Can Heat

    • There’s also Butler’s durability to worry about, since he’s missed at least 15 games in each of the last three seasons. Dunn is a dynamic young player who could grow into a defensively-oriented version of Russell Westbrook, he could’ve set the Bulls on a new timeline, and LaVine — who is only 21 still — has far more potential than he’s given credit for. Depending on Dunn and LaVine’s development in Minny, this non-move might reveal itself as a missed opportunity later on.

    That being said, Butler is already a superstar and trying to rebuild with youth around Butler seemed like an acceptable fall-back plan. (You know, until we saw how the front office actually went about rebuilding around Butler, but I digress.)

    Still, the Bulls got solid value with the last pick in the lottery, taking Valentine out of Michigan State. As one of — if not the — best college players in the nation last season, Valentine brings positional versatility, playmaking and shooting to the Bulls.

    Though he’s already 22, Valentine’s college numbers as a senior — 19.2 PPG, 7.8 APG, 7.5 RPG, 46.2 FG%, 44.4 3P% — and even his Summer League numbers for the Las Vegan champion Bulls —  11.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.7 APG — are undeniably encouraging.

    Valentine is a smart player and has built a reputation as a great teammate, he’s a very good defender and though he didn’t shoot well in Summer League with .352/.255/.778 splits, he had no problem stepping up and hitting timely, clutch shots for his team.

    The biggest issues with Valentine — other than his age — are concerns about his knees, which probably caused him to fall a few spots in the draft.

    If he can stay healthy, he’ll be a terrific addition. If not…well, let’s just say trading one injury-prone star and trying to moving on by drafting another one would be an unfortunate and unlucky stroke of fate.

    At No. 48, the Bulls took Paul Zipser, a German small forward with three-point range who could develop into a 3-and-D wing if Hoiberg gives him a chance. The Bulls may look back on keeping Butler with regret one day, but for now, they got solid value out of their two draft-day picks and kept their superstar.

    Grade: B

    Next: Reining In Rondo

    Home/Chicago Bulls