Chicago Bulls: 5 options for pick No. 22 in 2018 NBA Draft

5. Zhaire Smith, SF/SG — Texas Tech

One of the areas the Bulls wanted to address coming into this draft was to select a solid wing player who can be effective at both ends of the floor.

Enter Zhaire Smith.

First off, his numbers won’t really jump off the stat sheet. He averaged 11.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. However, one of the positives about Smith is that he shoots the ball at an efficient clip.

He connected on 55.6 percent of his attempts from the field, including a 45 percent conversion rate from behind the 3-point line, albeit on a small sample size of 40 attempts. Secondly, Smith has earned the reputation of being an elite, athletic defender that can guard multiple positions and he averaged 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks on an adjusted 40-minute scale.

Another good thing about Smith is he is a good offensive rebounder for a wing (averaging 2.2 per contest) and he finishes well around the rim.

On the negative side of the equation, Smith doesn’t shoot the ball with great confidence and has a tendency to rely on teammates to make plays for him. Additionally, he is known for taking questionable shots and the ball-handling needs a little work as well.

Overall, Smith brings more to the mix from a defensive standpoint at this stage of his development. In other words, if you’re expecting to see him perform like Lauri Markkanen did in his rookie season, you’re going to be disappointed.

At the same time, being that he will be just 19 years old by the time the draft rolls around, there is plenty of time to improve the deficiencies in his game.