Chicago Bulls: 3 takeaways from Jabari Parker signing
1. Can Parker stay healthy?
Last week, the Bulls and LaVine reached an agreement on a four-year deal that came with a $78 million price tag – an annual salary of $19.5 million per season. This was considered a somewhat risky move considering that LaVine had played in just 24 games.
Now, the Bulls are willing to roll the dice on another player who is coming back from not one, but two ACL surgeries during his four-year career.
True, Parker has shown some flashes of potential during that time. In 2015-16, after his first ACL injury, the fourth-year forward produced averages of 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per outing on 49.3 percent shooting from the field. The following season, Parker was playing exceptionally well, compiling averages of 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest on shooting splits of .490/.365/.743.
Unfortunately, the Chicago native sustained a second ACL injury that forced him to miss the remaining games of the 2016-17 campaign and all but 31 games last season. Not only that, but Parker has averaged just 46 games per season and has suited up just 183 times out of a possible 328 games.
If there is a silver lining in this scenario, I suppose the Bulls could take solace in the fact that even though Parker’s scoring output took a noticeable dip from the previous year (12.6 points per contest), he did finish the 2017-18 season on a high note, as he concluded the last month of the season with averages of 19.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest on 49.5 percent shooting overall and 45.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Additionally, if things don’t go according to plan, the Bulls can choose not to pick up the second year of the deal. The all-important question is does this move help the Bulls take the next step in Year 2 of the rebuild, or will it essentially stunt the team’s growth as they attempt to become a perennial playoff contender in the Eastern Conference?
Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Only time will tell.