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Fred Hoiberg Has One of the NBA’s Best Shooters in Doug McDermott

By Michael RENE KANOY

Mar 17, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Doug McDermott (3) celebrates a three point basket with guard Justin Holiday (7) during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center. Chicago won 118-102. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Doug McDermott (3) celebrates a three point basket with guard Justin Holiday (7) during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center. Chicago won 118-102. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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Stephen Curry came into the league in 2009 with loads of question marks and became one of the league’s biggest stars. He’s not Chef Curry, but Doug McDermott has that ability to become that deadly shooter for the Bulls that teams fear.

Mark Jackson was about to start a third season winning with the Golden State Warriors when they fired him and former Chicago Bulls guard Steve Kerr to take over. Alienating the front office may have cost Jackson his job, but at that time, the Warriors were using a more traditional pick-and-pop slash/pick-and-roll offensive system where the shooters were just catch-and-shoot specialists, yet his team was still winning.

When the Warriors retooled with Kerr, the team offense went into overdrive with ball movement madness, converting threes with almost every open outside shot. Opponents could barely catch up to the barrage of threes and the Warriors’ already capable defense.

The Bulls have a core of shooters whom casual fans may dismiss as inefficient. But, the Bulls have their own high first-round draft pick of two seasons ago that has plenty of question marks, but the potential to become one of the league’s top overall shooters (just like he did this season).

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Doug McDermott was picked up on draft night in 2014 in exchange for the Bulls’ two first-rounders. His only job for the Bulls is simple: put the ball in the basket.

Prior to the last few Bulls games, the Washington Post ran an interesting article about Doug McDermott and here are a few points they raised at the time the article came out:

  • McDermott can score in a variety of ways that most fans are unaware of: step-backs, driving dunks, three-pointers and floaters.
  • 82 percent of Doug’s shot attempts this season have come less than two seconds after he touches the ball. He can knock down shots that fast, along with scoring 1.09 points per shot.
  • Chicago was 8-5 this season when McDermott scores at least 16 points
  • The Bulls were 5-1 when he drills at least four three-pointers and he ranked fifth in the league in three-point percentage.
  • Up to the point of the article’s release, McDermott had a team-high true shooting percentage of 61.8.

The article offered that McDermott was crucial to the Bulls possibly making the playoffs. But, Butler had a different idea over allowing his teammates to make it easier to win. The Bulls didn’t make the playoffs when Butler lost two crucial games in the clutch playing ISO hero-ball. Butler even admitted that he basically lost this season, which is what he really did when the Bulls lost their third of four games to Detroit (ball-hogging and bricking) and Memphis (getting locked down by Tony Allen).

The Bulls have an elite shooter in Doug McDermott. He received a larger role this season and it paid off at times throughout the year. If Hoiberg pairs McDermott with Derrick Rose and Nikola Mirotic more next season, the Bulls can be a scoring machine at times with Mirotic and McDermott knocking down outside shots.

More bulls: Hassan Whiteside will likely be out of Bulls' price range this summer

The production from Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol and even Taj Gibson can be replaced by elite scoring already on the team. The key however, is getting players that can compliment those shooters with solid play on the defensive end. A good shot-blocker, a lockdown wing defender, guys that can pound the glass and guys that can blitz the pick-and-roll.

In exchange for Jimmy Butler, GarPax and Hoiberg can decide which players are the best pieces for the offense and build around Rose, Mirotic and McDermott.  The key word is “best fits” and not equal value All-Star. If the Bulls get the players they need to run Hoiball, the sum of the parts will count more than just getting another player or two to replace Butler’s stats.

That would be the worst trade rationale: getting someone who just has accolades and stats but who doesn’t fit the team.

The first part about the offense is already in place with Doug McDermott possibly being the best scoring forward next year, given the spike in his scoring efficiency towards the end of the season.

The defense and rebounding are still a work in progress that GarPax can resolve once Jimmy Butler is moved out for better cogs. McDermott can make Rose’s job easier, pad his assists per game and spell Mirotic when he has off-games shooting.

Next: Hypothetical scenario: Derrick Rose traded to ... the New Orleans Pelicans?

A changing of the guard could be at hand this summer for the Bulls in terms of how they mold this roster.

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