Chicago Bulls: How will Jabari Parker fit in next year?

Last season

Last season, Parker only appeared in 31 games, with significant minute restrictions burdening his momentum for fear of re-injuring his nagging knee.

While the Bucks medical staff was wise to hold him out, if they were going to let him walk anyway, it might have made sense to unleash him more liberally, as the restrictions affected his momentum and stats significantly.

All of his major statistical categories took a hit. His scoring output went from 20.1 points per game in 2016-7 to 12.6 per game in 2017-18. His assists were down to 1.9 and his boards dropped to 4.9 per game.

While the modern NBA player boasts too much versatility to judge on these categories alone, Parker is a traditional athletic scoring forward who will prove his worth in his scoring and rebounding output.

Granted, playing next to a full-steam, in-his-prime Giannis Antetokounmpo is not exactly a rehab-friendly situation. Given Parker’s extremely conservative rehab and subsequent restrictions, however, it is likely the Bulls will be thanking the Bucks medical staff throughout the upcoming season.

While an injury risk is much higher with a player like Jabari Parker, there is no reason to believe he can’t move on from this and become his 2016-17 self, where he put up his highest outputs in nearly every category.