The Bulls went big this off-season, chasing the dreams of 2011 as if acquiring players like Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade could ever bring them back to that place and time, giving the Bulls a real shot at a title. It’s time to grade the Bulls off-season.
I know that I said this yesterday, but let’s get it out of the way right away, again: this is bound to be wrong in some way, eventually. While the training camp roster is just about set, there are developments that haven’t happened yet which will shift the team composition.
Yesterday, we took a look at the Bulls doing a full round of changes at the point guard position, pretty much everything out and a whole bunch of new in. Today, we’re going to look at the much quieter shooting guard position. Welcome to the Chicago Bulls off-season.
Shooting Guard Grade: C-
Justin Holiday is a kind of guard-forward, just like Mike Dunleavy. Both of those players used to be on the Chicago Bulls. Used to. The Bulls have been making radical changes, some good and a lot of iffy ones. The shooting guard position is going to be a fun one this season.
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Holiday was moved with Derrick Rose in Chicago’s trade with the New York Knicks that brought back Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant. Dunleavy, who really is more of a forward than a guard, was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs had a trade exception and the Bulls needed room under the cap to bring in a new shooting guard – Dwyane Wade.
Wade is the crowning jewel of approximately four seasons of futility. Chicago was the victim of fate as injury after injury derailed their potential greatness. Eventually, there were enough injuries that it overwhelmed the team and they broke, giving way to the internal struggle that had been stirring between coach and ownership. And for all that struggle, friction, meniscus and tendon tears, injured shoulders, wounded egos and more, the Bulls ended up acquiring the prized Wade. It’s both completely fitting and utterly sad that the move happened about four years too late.
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Still, Wade has a far superior resume to Holiday, Dunlevy or Tony Snell. Snell is still on Chicago’s roster and it seems like he probably isn’t going anywhere for now, though he’s far from a starter and has probably fallen far enough that whenever Wade isn’t at shooting guard, which should be about 18 minutes of each game for the 60-ish games that Dwyane actually plays during the regular season, Snell probably still isn’t in the picture.
Beyond Wade, the Bulls drafted Denzel Valentine with the No. 14 pick in this summer’s draft and have Jimmy Butler, Doug McDermott, Spencer Dinwiddie and Jerian Grant ready to pick up the slack for Wade. The Dinwiddie and Grant additions will give the roster flexibility, even if they function on particularly limited amounts of NBA-level basketball skill.
The grade would be harsher if the Wade deal had been longer. Also, it isn’t bad to get looks at Dinwiddie and Grant while bringing along Valentine. The rightful concern is that there isn’t much to look at with these young players. However, only time will tell.