David Nwaba is here to stay
The Bulls unsurprisingly guaranteed Nwaba’s contract on Sunday.
After earning his spot in the rotation and turning a lot of heads this season, the Chicago Bulls have guaranteed swingman David Nwaba’s contract for the remainder of the year. Nwaba will be paid $1.3 million this season.
Like Woj said in his tweet, this was expected to happen eventually. Nwaba has been a bright spot for Chicago this year, surpassing Paul Zipser in the rotation early on and never looking back. His absurd athleticism makes him a monster on backdoor cuts, and it aids him in attacking closeouts when the ball swings to him.
He’s basically a non-factor from deep, shooting only 26.7 percent from 3-point range. However, he doesn’t let that hamstring him on offense. Nwaba is such a backdoor threat that he manages to preserve some of the spacing he would otherwise lose, and he chooses his shots carefully and efficiently. Despite his dreadful 3-point percentage, Nwaba’s eFG percentage is 55.5 percent, a league average mark.
Defensively, Nwaba is a menace. He can comfortably guard three positions right now, and he’s still got plenty of time to master the nuances of NBA defense. Keep in mind, this guy has been playing professional basketball since February, and he’s only 10 months older than Denzel Valentine. He’ll enter restricted free agency this summer, and the Bulls would be very foolish to let him go. Wings that can attract attention off the ball and lock down their opponent on the perimeter don’t grow on trees in the NBA, and Chicago has stumbled upon one who isn’t done improving yet. Look out for David Nwaba.
