Chicago Bulls: Power ranking the 5 best players
By Luke Askew
5. Bobby Portis
A lot of people will think this spot belongs to Wendell Carter Jr. I understand that line of thinking and it probably won’t take long for this spot (or a higher one) to become his, but until he plays an actual NBA game, I just can’t put him ahead of a guy who had a really solid season last year for the Bulls.
During the 2017-18 season, Bobby Portis averaged 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from 3-point range.
Portis was extremely effective despite playing in a relatively minor role. He only played 22.5 minutes per game but was still one of the Bulls best players last season. Had the Bulls been a more successful team, Portis could’ve been a candidate for the Sixth-Man of the Year award.
It’s a little unclear what Portis’s role will be during the 2018-19 NBA season. The Bulls added two bigs in Jabari Parker and Wendell Carter Jr. – both are guys I would expect to get priority over Bobby Portis.
The good news for Portis is that the Bulls are in a unique situation this year where they can try out multiple different combinations in the frontcourt. With Carter, Parker, Portis, Markkanen, and Robin Lopez, the Bulls can get really unique with what lineups they role out and Portis figures to be a big part of that.