Should the Chicago Bulls draft LaMelo Ball in the 2020 NBA Draft?
How LaMelo Ball fits with the Chicago Bulls
LaMelo Ball is the best overall playmaker in this draft and his highlights show how incredibly impossible he could be to guard as a lead playmaker in the NBA.
This clip shows what Ball could do in the pick and pop with Lauri Markkanen, the drawing of the defense allowed teammate David Andersen to stretch to the top of the arc, with Ball drawing both players to him almost immediately. Ball is great at improvising in both the half and full-court.
One can see Ball running this with Markkanen every game as Tomas Satoransky did a similar play with him this season… when Jim Boylen actually used Markkanen.
Both Wendell Carter Jr. and Markkanen can play in the paint and rim run and unlock some of Ball’s best passing. Ball drove and dumped absolute dimes to his admittedly unathletic bigs while in the NBL. If a 39-year-old can finish these passes, the Bulls frontcourt can too.
There’s an obvious ability for ridiculous show-time like passes but there is also nuance in Ball’s playmaking shown here; with Anderson outmaneuvering the defender and with the slightest indication Ball was able to deliver a bullet past the rookie and draft prospect Kouat Noi.
The connection between Ball and Zach LaVine could be Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson-Esque. The NBL doesn’t have as many high flyers as the NBA so any comparisons would be moot. However, with LaVine, Wendall and Ball all running the full court, it could be a hail storm of dunks.
There is a gold mine of fast-break highlights from Ball’s season in the NBL which may convince you, and the Bulls front office that there’s a real chance that LaMelo Ball’s fast-break abilities could unlock this team. Especially considering Boylen had the Bulls at the third slowest pace in the league.
The last guy is Coby White, who has been one of the better rookies this season. His ability to shoot has been historical for a rookie, especially in February where he averaged 20.1 points per game. Sliding White up to the shooting guard and becoming the secondary playmaker would reduce White’s playmaking responsibilities and allow him to develop and do what he does best, shoot.
White didn’t have many catch-and-shoot opportunities as you’d like with only 3.9 a game. His percentages were great for a rookie as he had a 54.7 effective field goal percentages and shot 37.0 percentages from three in catch and shoot situations.
Ball typically only got his teammates shooting from three when in a pick and roll situation. Unless White is left alone (which doesn’t happen often) it would require some great ball movement to get him open.
Illawarra didn’t have much ball movement so it’s hard to show from the small sample size, but these offensive rebounds show how dangerous a backcourt of Ball and White backcourt could be.
You may have picked up on that those were all offensively focused examples, and that’s for a reason. Ball didn’t show much determination or focus on the other end, so let’s look at why LaMelo Ball may not fit with the Chicago Bulls team.