Chicago Bulls 2018-19 season preview: Wendell Carter Jr.
By Luke Askew
The Chicago Bulls drafted Wendell Carter Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. What can Bulls fans expect out of him in his rookie season?
After trading Jimmy Butler during the 2017 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls spent almost the entire 2017-18 season trying to lose as many games as possible in hopes of getting a top draft pick. They ended up getting the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft which they used to select Wendell Carter Jr. from Duke.
Wendell Carter Jr. had a phenomenal freshman year at Duke where he averaged 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on an impressive 56.1 percent shooting from the field and 41.3 percent shooting from 3-point range.
The most impressive part of Carter’s freshman season was that he was able to accomplish all he did while playing next to standout forward Marvin Bagley III. Most centers wouldn’t be able to share the frontcourt with a top-3 draft pick and still be considered one of the best frontcourt players in all of basketball. Wendell did, though.
Wendell Carter Jr. wasted no time earning the respect of Bulls fans as he had an incredible 2018 NBA Summer League. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while in Las Vegas.
Carter’s role to start the 2018-19 season is a bit of a mystery right now. The Bulls will definitely be starting Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, Jabari Parker and Lauri Markkanen. At the center position, though, things are a little foggy.
The Bulls could role the dice and throw Carter into the mix right away with the rest of the young guys, or they could stick with proven veteran Robin Lopez in the starting lineup while Wendell adjusts to the league.
Carter’s strengths are seemingly a perfect fit for what the Bulls need. He’ll go into the season as the second best defender on the team (behind Kris Dunn) and should be able to play perfectly off of franchise cornerstone Lauri Markkanen – the latter being critical for whoever joins this Bulls team.
If the Bulls role with Carter in the starting lineup, they’ll have 5 guys who can shoot the ball from deep, with the worst of those 5 being their point guard, Kris Dunn. When Dunn penetrates (which is what he does best), he’ll have 4 players on the court that can either slash to the hoop or space the floor.
Because of his aforementioned fit with the team, Carter was the perfect draft pick for the Bulls. Sure, if they got luckier during the draft lottery and wound up with a top-3 pick, Luka Doncic might have been even better, but you can’t get much more out of a No. 7 overall pick than the Bulls got.
I don’t know if Carter will be the opening day starter, but I would be shocked if he wasn’t the starter by the end of the year.
Projected 2018-19 stat line: 12.0 PPG / 8.5 RPG / 4.0 APG / 58% FG / 42% 3FG