Chicago Bulls: Grading every personnel move of 2018-2019

Signed FA Jabari Parker: 2 Years, $40 Million (Team Option for 2019-2020)

The Jabari Parker deal has been one which Bulls fans have ripped GarPax for, which does not make much sense. The dollar amount scared many fans, along with the question marks around his ability to play the small forward position. The team never gave Parker much of a chance, and nearly none of his time in Chicago allowed him to play the three.

When Fred Hoiberg was fired and Jim Boylen took over, Parker’s lack of defensive effort landed him on the bench, despite his 14-point and six-rebound average. The situation with Parker was quite strange, and he quickly went from a hometown hero to a disliked player by many.

In short, the deal was not nearly as bad as the consensus makes it out to be. Parker is still only 24 years old and was a rising star until injuries destroyed his NBA career. The opportunity to not only get a young player with potential, but a hometown kid, was one that makes a lot of sense for the Bulls. And despite the massive sum of money he was paid, there was a team option which allowed the club to back out of the deal next season. On top of this, Chicago was not a marquee free agent destination anyway, and the Bulls had plenty of capital to spend.

The way things went for Jabari in his home town was nothing short of disappointing and sad. However, the deal was very low risk and high reward for the team and he also served as trade bait for another deal to be discussed later.

Grade: C