Bulls Roster Grades: Analyzing the ‘16-’17 Chicago Bulls.
It’s the middle of Spring, and the Chicago Bulls just finished their season getting beat by the Boston Celtics in 6 games in Round 1 of the ECF. Their regular season record was a mediocre 41–41, finishing barely as the 8th seed in the conference. The roster this year was quite the experiment, with 12 different players from last season, many different starting lineups. Signing Dwayne Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Isaiah Canaan. Then Trading for Michael Carter-Williams, Jerian Grant, and Robin Lopez. Drafting Denzel Valentine, and Paul Zipser, then trading for Anthony Morrow, Joffrey Lauvergne, and Cameron Payne in the middle of the season.
Now that the seasons wrapped up, here are my 2016–2017 Chicago Bulls player grades.
JIMMY BUTLER: A-
Stats: 23.9p 6.2r 5.5a 1.9s Accolades: All Star Starter Cons: Too many isolation plays during games that did not end well.
Plan: Build around him or Trade him
DWAYNE WADE: B
Stats: 18.3p 4.5r 3.8a
Pros: Team Veteran Leader, Mid Range scorer.
Cons: Rested a lot of games during the year, (Cost him ‘A’ Grade) while paying him ALOT of money.
Robin Lopez: B
Stats: 10.4p 6.4r
Pros: 2nd best Defender on team, reliable, good value for his contract.
Cons: Not used as much as he could have been, never will be a great scorer or passer.
RAJON RONDO: C+
Stats: 7.8p 5.1r 6.7a 2.1to
Pros: Young players really like him , played very well at end of
season. Contract gives him good value.
Cons: Poor scorer, sometimes butts heads with coach/players.
Plan: Keep him using team option
Bobby Portis: C
Stats: 6.8p 4.8r 48.8%fg— Pros: Has great energy, seem glimpces of great play — Cons: Sometimes shoots too many 3’s, defense needs to develop.
Nikola Mirotic: C-
Stats: 10.6p 5.5r 1.1a 34.2%3p — Pros: 3 Point shooting, floor spacing — Cons: Shoots a lot of bad shots, poor defense, poor post game for 6'10 Power Forward. Plan: Do not resign for next season
Jerian Grant: C-
Stats: 5.9p 1.8r 1.9a 89%ft — Pros: Good backup PG for only 2nd year in league. — Cons: Poor Defense, needs to gain physical strength to attack rim. Plan: Give him time to see whether he develops.
Crisitiano Felicio: C-
Stats: 4.8p 4.7r 57.9%fg — Pros: Rebounding, Athletic for his size. — Cons: Commits a lot of fouls, poor mid-range. — Plan: Give him time to develop.
Players with D+ Grades:
Michael Carter Williams: Solid passer, Poor Defense, Poor shooter, commits fouls too much.
Denzel Valentine: Good 3p%, needs to expand his shot variety, O.K. season for a rookie.
Paul Zipser: Potential scorer, needs time to develop overall game, Rookie.
Joffrey Lauvergne: So far Best player from OKC trade, does not give specific skillset that Bulls can use.
‘F’ Grades:
Isaiah Canaan: Poor shooter, below average passer for PG, poor rebounder because of size, however best FT shooter on team?
Anthony Morrow: Hardly made his way into Bulls rotation, poor defender, bad FG%, does not show needed athleticsm
Cameron Payne: Bulls traded a lot to get Cameron Payne, however, all across the board are needed imrovements, shoots too many 3's.
Thoughts,
With the grades given, it is not hard to believe that the Chicago Bulls finished their season with a .500 record. If I had to give coach Fred Hoiberg a grade, it would be a D+ because of lack of young player development, and unorthodox in game lineups. There are a few players with potential to develop, however with this current roster the team most likely will not be much better next year. Hopefully, with the potential cap space, the team can add some rotation players with higher grades going into next season.
Sources: (All stats are from NBA.com/bulls )
