Chicago Bulls Midseason Grades: Butler shines, Wade and Rondo shrug

Isaiah Canaan

Stats: 18.5 minutes (in 28 games played), 5.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 37.5–26.5–88.9

Grade: D-

Isaiah Canaan signed with the Bulls to get one thing and one thing only: buckets.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t gotten much of a chance to do that lately given the fact that he isn’t very good at anything else. He’s played in only three of the last 18 games, and two of those were garbage time spots in blowout losses.

Canaan is a gifted 3-point shooter (never mind his dreadful percentage), but he regularly plays himself off the floor due to his inability to stay with his man on the other end. Opposing teams attack him relentlessly on defense to the point where he hurts the Bulls more than his spacing helps.

I wouldn’t mind seeing him get another chance every now and then though. Sometimes buckets are enough.

Denzel Valentine

Stats: 11.9 minutes (27 games), 3.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 32.0–31.3–87.5

Grade: Incomplete

It’s been a difficult season for the Bulls rookie, beset on all sides with injuries, short leashes, and shade from John Wall. He’s solidly out of the rotation, with Paul Zipser and Jerian Grant ahead of him, but he’s shown exciting 3-point range and some nifty passing ability when healthy.

Valentine has shined brightly in his brief stints playing for the Windy City Bulls, sinking 3-pointers at a Curry-ian rate. Who knows if he can do the same thing in the big leagues, but these grades could use a little wishful thinking.

We just haven’t seen enough of Valentine to make an informed decision at this point, which is why he isn’t receiving a grade. It could be that the rookie still has a bright future ahead of him. It could also be that Chicago has missed on yet another first round pick. It’s simply too early to tell.