The Chicago Bulls have the 38th pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft via the Luol Deng trade. They may be able to compensate for that by getting a future core player in Arkansas’ Moses Kingsley.
The Chicago Bulls‘ rollercoaster ride last year showed what the team’s weaknesses are in the post-Derrick Rose era. Defending against scoring guards and small ball teams in the paint is one of the Bulls’ main priorities next year.
The Bulls have the 38th pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft from the deal which involved Luol Deng and they may be able to get someone to strengthen the interior defense with an athletic and swarming shot-blocker like Arkansas’ Moses Kingsley.
GarPax do have the penchant for picking gems and the best players available, from Nikola Mirotic to Bobby Portis. Even Cristiano Felicio, an undrafted player, turned out to be better than expected.
Moses Kingsley, at 6-foot-10 and with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, comes from Bobby Portis’ alma mater and promises to be the perfect front court partner for Portis when they start anew next year.
Given all the craze for 3-and-D stretch forwards these days, choosing one like Kingsley may even prolong careers of Bulls mainstays like Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade (if they stay with the team) because both can gamble on the wings and passing lanes knowing there is a shot eraser protecting the rim.
Kingsley was weaned on a full-court press defensive system with the defense tuned to generate scrambling offense. If you watch the highlights in the video below, he is a big who chases the playmaker up high and runs well if he gets an interception or forces a turnover on the ball carrier.
For a 6-foot-10, 210-pound player, he looks really good running the fast break and taking the ball to the rim.
Kingsley is a senior, so he has the maturity of four competitive basketball seasons, which the Bulls front office tends to prefer now over young studs and hyped “one-and-done” players.
Like Cristiano Felicio, he has a 3-point shot that he rarely uses, and his 17-foot to 3-point range accuracy is pegged at 47 percent with 36 attempts from that range (per Draft Express). If groomed to use his high-release, set shot from NBA range, he can be a Bench Mob rotation player who can shoot from the midrange when plays break down and the team needs a shot.
All U Can Heat
Kingsley can drive to the hoop like a wing, with handles to weave the ball around and make straight line drives, which is why he fits a Hoiball system. He plays with pace. Many big man plays in the NBA also rely heavily on dump-off finishes and DX vouches for Kingsley as a typical Boston Celtics-style big (a la Kelly Olynyk) with dump-offs in half-court sets.
On the defensive end, Kingsley was named as one of five players from college last year to register at least 1.5 steals and 3.0 blocks per 40 minutes. Like Bobby Portis, Kingsley is fluid as a rim-runner and can make some gorgeous court-to-court plays, being the first one in the front court.
Kingsley also made the All-SEC defensive team. In one of his games against Tennessee Tech, Moses had eight scorching blocks. He is a fast-twitch shot eraser with very good timing instincts, even changing his blocking hand in midair in the video above to stop a shot in the paint.
With the Sacramento Kings’ 38th pick, it may not be such a poor option if GarPax can take a good look at Portis’ old teammate and have a workout and interview and give him a roster spot. Two 6-foot-10 bigs (Portis and Kingsley) who can run and play full-court press, with one of them compensating for Portis’ lack of dedicated shot-blocking skills at the rim should be a positive get.
Getting a Bench Mob back online should be easier with someone like Moses Kingsley as the second of the Bulls picks this coming draft.
Remember, they need a role-playing bench filler now that the front court is set with Portis, Nikola Mirotic and even Paul Zipser as the scoring wings. Their only other backup other than Felicio is Joffrey Lauvergne if the Bulls bring either one of them back.
Kingsley may be more than what draft rankings paint him to be, just like Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon became when all draft boards had him as too slow to be a guard option.
Next: Examining the Nikola Mirotic restricted free agent market
He’s a high energy, lunch pail carrying-kind of guy just like Taj Gibson, so he should fit the Bulls as an additional defensive enforcer off the bench who can also shoot the ball.