Should the Bulls Gamble on Brandon Jennings in Free Agency?

Former Milwaukee Bucks/Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings is going to be available this summer and GarPax might want to build their guard depth by getting him in free agency for the Bulls.

Brandon Jennings used to be one of the NBA’s top score-first point guards with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was traded to Detroit and transformed his game there to become a sharp playmaker. Last season, he had a career-best 21 assists in a Detroit win against the Orlando Magic in January 2015.

Then, before the trade deadline this season, Jennings and stretch-forward Ersan Ilyasova got shipped off to Orlando for forward Tobias Harris for a salary dump and it being his contract year, the Pistons wanted to squeeze anything out of any deal for Jennings.

Jennings has averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals in his seven-year NBA career. He is still capable of being a scoring option. In his first game with the Magic, Jennings poured in 18 points, knocking down four 3-pointers and dished out four assists in a 110-104 OT win.

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Before he was traded to Orlando, Jennings was getting his game back after a 12-month long rehab from his torn Achilles tendon injury in 2014-15.  He led Detroit to an 8-4 run early in January and the Pistons were beating elite East teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat and even the Bulls.

Jennings has been trying to finding a role where he can ease off to avoid getting hurt and still play effectively by getting the team offense humming instead of taking on the scoring workload since the Achilles tear.

If the Bulls can’t find the bigs they want among the free agents available or are looking for the best value addition to the team, Brandon Jennings may be a sneaky steal for the backup point guard slot.

Jennings pushes the ball like no one’s business and he can create within the 15-second shot clock that Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg uses to rack up points in his pace-and-space offense.  If Derrick Rose ever gets sidelined by injuries next year, Jennings can fill in with his offense and passing. He’ll take the occasional wild shot (like Aaron Brooks), but he’s a younger and more reliable option than Brooks as a backup.

The deepest bench in the playoffs often allows a team to match up well with anyone and grind it out even with their second team playing. With the harder fouls and longer minutes among the starters in the postseason, injuries happen (as the Bulls know), so the Bulls need all the help they can get.

Shoring up the point guard position with at least 2-3 extra playmakers who can score is never a bad idea since the back court almost always carries a winning team into the next round and resting one’s starters when applicable in each round is a no-brainer.

Having Brandon Jennings next year might be more interesting than you’d expect if you can envision him running a second unit against weaker competition. He would be a smart choice to make Hoiball hum when Rose sits to rest and the second team stretches the lead with high-energy players like Bobby Portis running out after each defensive stop.

The cost of getting a good a point guard as Brandon Jennings may be higher than his $8 million-plus contract last year because many teams are looking for the perfect playmaker for their team.

But, the Bulls may try to afford it after potentially moving players like Taj Gibson to fill out the team with more valuable players in the back court. The Bulls have bigs and scoring forwards that need playing time to develop and an injury-prone Gibson playing minutes reduces Hoiball’s potency.

The Bulls are locked into the 14th overall pick, so that selection could be used for fresher legs in the front court if Gibson is moved.

Next: Bulls will pick 14th overall in 2016 NBA Draft

Brandon Jennings should get a serious look, especially if E’Twaun Moore cashes in with another team after a solid season with the Bulls last year.