Did the Bulls make a mistake ignoring wing depth?
While it is possible the Bulls can eventually address this need via trade at some point this season, relying on two players who are unreliable isn’t ideal for them heading into the season.
The Bulls filled a lot of needs but one obvious one remains, their wing depth. The Bulls traded for Otto Porter Jr last deadline, and he will be their starting small forward for now. Arguably that will be sold as an offseason addition, which I think is a reasonable way to look at it. But the Bulls ignored depth and will rely on their player development to produce solid wing players out of Denzel Valentine and Chandler Hutchison.
Considering the Bulls used two 1st round picks on these players, I understand their desire to see these two play, but not bringing in another player here is a mistake. Denzel Valentine missed all of last season with an ankle injury, and at this late juncture he still hasn’t been cleared to practice 5 on 5. The injuries are quite concerning with Valentine, as he has already had two knee surgeries already in his young career (college and NBA).
When healthy Valentine does provide good floor spacing combined with solid vision and he is a good team defender as well. Valentine can help the Bulls, but only if he is healthy.
Hutchison is coming off of a foot injury himself but has been cleared to play. He played in the summer league and really struggled. The main thing that stood out was his shot has not seemed to get any better. Hutchison shot 28 percent from 3-point range last season and then shot 20 percent from 3 in summer league.
And in general Hutchison struggled from the field shooting 28 percent from there in summer league. Considering he is 23 and is supposed to be a little further in his development, it is very concerning that Hutchison on the offensive end looks like he doesn’t belong in the NBA. Luckily his defense is good and that does have a place in the NBA.
But these are the two players the Bulls will rely on for their wing depth. Two players who haven’t been reliable in their NBA careers. While it is possible the Bulls can eventually address this need via trade at some point this season, relying on two players who are unreliable isn’t ideal for them heading into the season.
They identified clear weaknesses and filled them. But the fact the Bulls lack depth along the wing front puts the signings in perspective, any signing would have been an upgrade there depth-wise.
But the fact that they identified players that complement their core players are good things. And it is much better than their last offseason signing of Jabari Parker which made little to zero sense. The Bulls did nothing that was creative this offseason, they simply made smart and solid signings, which is good.
They executed their plan well in the draft and at least found players who should be able to contribute at some point. The ignoring of wing depth is disappointing, and Boylen isn’t anything to get excited about which somewhat brings the offseason down. But the Bulls did more good than bad, and for that, you have to at least give them an above-average grade. The Bulls should be more competitive next season while putting players around their core that should benefit them. But there is still a question if they are good enough to make the playoffs and in year 3 of a rebuild that isn’t bad but not great either.
Overall I give the Bulls offseason a B-. The offseason free-agent additions were easily the highlight of the offseason.
