Chicago Bulls: 3 point guards to pursue during 2021 offseason

There is a perception around the league that the Chicago Bulls will pursue a guard in free agency to play alongside Zach LaVine. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has stated multiple times during the month of May that the Bulls are interested in pursuing Lonzo Ball and Dennis Schröder.

But are those the point guards that the Chicago Bulls need? Well, only one of those point guards is. The Chicago Bulls run an offensive system centered around post-up and pick and rolls. The Bulls finished 15th in pick and rolls during the regular season, averaging 20 per game.

Coby White, the starting point guard, only accounted for 28 percent of those possessions as he averaged 5.6 per game. Unfortunately, he spent the rest of his minutes off the ball as he didn’t participate in the team’s post-up possessions.

Chicago was 10th in post-up possessions during the regular season averaging 6 per game. 96.7 percent of those possessions went to Nikola Vucevic as he averaged 5.8 per game. White spent most of his minutes as a floor spacer.

For example, White stood on the right-wing midway through the first quarter of a home game against the Nets. White stood there as LaVine went over a Vucevic screen on the other side of the court. LaVine went over the screen and took a couple of steps towards the free throw before taking a mid-range jumper.

White’s role contributed to him taking 50.3 percent of his shots from behind the arc this season, averaging 6.6 per game. 72.7 percent of those threes were via the catch and shoot department, as he averaged 4.3 per game.

The Chicago Bulls are reportedly interested in acquiring a point guard this offseason. Let’s take a look at 3 candidates that would be a good fit

Therefore, the Chicago Bulls need to target a point guard who possesses on and off the ball skills but is comfortable spending most of their time as a floor spacer. However, they need to target point guards within that criteria that are worth less than $24 million. The Bulls are expected to have between $24-35 million in cap space during the upcoming offseason.

Potential candidates that would fit under these criteria are Patty Mills, Devonte’ Graham, and Lonzo Ball. Mills has averaged 5 pick and roll possessions per game since 2015, shooting 40.2 percent from the field on 2.4 attempts. The field goal percentage helped him create 2.6 points, 26 percent of his scoring output.

He also has been able to excel off the ball, making 39.9 percent of his catch and shoots since 2013 on 3.2 attempts per game. Catch and shoots have been responsible for 95.8 percent of his threes as he has converted 38.8 percent of the field goals from behind the arc on 3.3 attempts per game since 2013

If the Bulls are unable to sign Mills in free agency, they should move on to Graham. Restricted free agent Graham has done an admirable job on the ball in his first three seasons in the league. He has averaged 5 pick and roll possessions over his first three seasons, shooting 37.4 percent from the field on 3.8 attempts per game. The shooting percentage helped him create 4.3 points per game, 32.3 percent of his scoring output.

Graham was able to complement his on-ball skills with off-ball success. Graham made 42 percent of his catch and shoots in his first three seasons on 3.3 attempts per game. Catch and shoots accounted for 45.8 percent of his total threes as he has a career shooting percentage of 36.4 percent from behind the arc on 7.2 attempts per game.

If the Bulls aren’t able to land either of these two free agents, they should move on to the final candidate, restricted free agent Lonzo Ball. Ball has been a serviceable pick and roll ball handler throughout his career, averaging 3.6 possessions per game. He has shot 36.6 percent from the field since 2017 on 2.8 attempts per game. The shooting percentage allows him to generate 2.6 points per game; 22.2 percent of his scoring output.

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However, Ball has had an uneven career off the ball. When Ball first came into the league, he had a funky shooting form. Ball used to bring his shooting hand across his body to the left side of his head before releasing the basketball.

The old form would hinder Ball’s depth perception as he was shooting because the right arm ended up in between his eyes, causing obstructed vision. Consequently, it caused him to have a bad shooting percentage from behind the arc as he made 31.8 percent of his catch and shoots on 3.3 attempts per game.

Catch and shoots were responsible for 62.3 percent of his threes as he has a shooting percentage of 31.5 percent on 5.3 attempts per game. After his first two seasons, Ball was traded from Los Angeles to New Orleans. When he got to New Orleans, he got to work with Pelican’s assistant coach, Fred Vinson. Vinson was able to correct Lonzo Ball’s shooting form.

Vinson was able to center Ball’s shot as he now releases the ball on the right side of his head instead of across his body. The new shooting form allowed him to have a clear view of the basket, which contributed to him making 39.6 percent of his catch and shoots over the past two seasons on 5 attempts per game. The catch and shoots statistics play a vital role in him shooting 37.6 percent from behind the arc on 7.2 shots per game.

Consequently, if the Bulls were to sign Lonzo Ball, they need to make sure he doesn’t go back to his old shooting form to prevent him from regressing to the statistics from his first two seasons. These three candidates are the best options for the Chicago Bulls because Dennis Schröder has struggled off the ball outside of one year.

Schröder made 41.4 percent of his catch and shoots during the 2019-20 season on 3.6 attempts with the Oklahoma City Thunder playing under current Chicago Bulls head coach, Billy Donovan. Catch and shoots accounted for 72 percent of his total threes last season as he converted 38.5 percent of his shots from behind the arc on 5 attempts per game.

Schröder off the ball success playing under Billy Donovan is part of why the Chicago Bulls are interested in him. Donovan most likely believes that Schroeder can replicate those shooting numbers in his system.

Unfortunately, that is unlikely to be true. If we take the 2019-20 season out of Schröder’s statistical profile, he has made 35.7 percent of his catch and shoots on 1.8 attempts. Catch and shoots accounted for 54.5 percent of his threes as he shot 33.3 percent from behind the arc on 3.3 attempts per game.

Although Chicago needs a point guard with on and off the ball skills, they should emphasize the off-ball skill set.