Chicago Bulls: Complete 2018 offseason grades
Bulls sign Jabari Parker to a two-year deal
It is no secret that the Bulls have had their fair share of struggles in terms of being an attractive destination for marquee free agents over the past several seasons. Despite this trend, the front office was determined not to simply throw money at veteran players who would only be a short-term solution for the team’s rebuild.
In a move that was somewhat surprising, the Bulls decided to take a swing on Jabari Parker, who was selected at the No. 2 spot by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2014 NBA Draft. When healthy, Parker is a capable scorer who can create his own shot and finish at the rim with the best of them.
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On the flip side of the narrative, Parker has spent a good portion of his young NBA career away from the court thanks to multiple knee injuries. He appeared in just 25 games for the Bucks during his rookie campaign due to an ACL injury.
He played in 76 games during his second year and was in the midst of the breakout season in 2016-17 before his campaign came to an abrupt halt thanks to another torn ACL. Not only did Parker miss the remainder of that season, he also missed the first 50 games of the 2017-18 season as well.
Overall, Parker’s shooting efficiency is pretty reasonable, as he has connected on 49 percent of his overall attempts to go along with a 35.2 percent conversion rate from 3-point range. As is the case with LaVine, though, Parker is not considered a great defender by any stretch of the imagination.
In essence, the Bulls acquired another scorer who doesn’t excel from a defensive standpoint and is coming off multiple ACL injuries. For all the potential Parker brings to the mix offensively, it will be interesting to see if his presence hinders the development of LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen – who played in just 12 games together last season.
Grade: C