Chicago Bulls: Roster predictions for 2018-19 NBA season

Cameron Payne and David Nwaba will round out second unit

The Bulls claimed David Nwaba off waivers last offseason and he has proven to be a diamond in the rough. Similar to Dunn, Nwaba is capable of playing the game at a frenetic pace from an offensive standpoint and because of the effort he puts in on defense, Hoiberg wasn’t shy about asking Nwaba to guard taller players despite being just 6’4”.

Overall, Nwaba averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 70 games. In 21 starts, his averages included 10.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing. Simply put, Nwaba was everything the Bulls would hoping he would be an then some and it would be surprising if his play hasn’t earned him a roster spot next season.

Initially, Cameron Payne was more of punch line than anything else. He played poorly during a brief 11-game stint in 2016-17 (4.9 points and 1.4 assists per outing on 33.3 percent shooting). He shot 9-for-26 with seven turnovers in a pair of Summer League appearances and he missed the first half of the season with yet another foot injury.

In spite of the shaky start to his career with the Bulls, Payne’ stock is starting to trend in the right direction. In 25 games, Payne averaged 8.8 points and 4.5 assists on 40.5 percent shooting from the field and he knocked down 38.5 percent of his looks from deep.

This isn’t a huge sample size by any means and the outside shooting still needs some work. At the same time, Payne did manage to turn the competition at the backup point guard spot into a two-man race once again, which was anything but a certainty coming into the season.