Chicago Bulls’ 2019 NBA Draft prospects: Don’t forget about R.J. Barrett

Duke guard R.J. Barrett was (understandably) overshadowed by Zion Williamson for the entire 2018-19 season, but the Chicago Bulls shouldn’t forget about him.

Every logical NBA fan wants Zion Williamson on their team. I mean, what’s not to love about the kid? But Zion had a teammate at Duke that was pretty good too – he just doesn’t get talked about as much. His name is R.J. Barrett.

The Canadian wing has as much upside as anyone in recent draft history, but because his former college teammate is one of the most transcendent prospects ever, Barrett doesn’t get a lot of hype. In fact, his game often gets a little bit of hate.

I get it. Barrett can sometimes struggle with tunnel vision, his hero-mode takeovers in late-game situations are tough to watch and his outside shooting is spotty. But if you focus on the bad aspects of any 18-year-old basketball player’s game, it can be pretty overwhelming. Most college kids still have a lot of flaws in their games that they’re working through.

With that being said, I won’t stand for any more R.J. slander. It’s time he gets the love he deserves.

Barrett entered the 2018-19 season as the No. 1 ranked player according to the 2018 ESPN 100. He’s a 6’7″ scoring wing that can guard multiple positions, snag offensive and defensive rebounds, push the ball in transition and make plays for others.

During his freshman season at Duke, Barrett averaged 22.6 points per game on 45.4% shooting from the field and 30.8% shooting from 3-point land to go along with 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Outside of his 3-point percentage, those are really impressive numbers.

Barrett’s 3-point percentage is cause for some concern, but he has decent mechanics and he doesn’t lack confidence. If I had to bet, I’d bet on his shooting percentage going way up as he develops in the NBA. He has a solid shooting foundation to build on.

R.J. has all the physical tools you could ever want in a wing, and the skills are there too. But the best part of his game? The intangibles. The dude is a winner – a flat-out winner. And that’s something that can’t be taught.

He’s also an incredibly good teammate. Throughout the season, he never seemed disappointed that Zion was getting all the attention. Whether he was on the bench or on the court, he was one of the nation’s best hype men. That’s something that means a lot at the next level. There will be games (and lots of them) where he isn’t the first option on offense. That’s just how the NBA works. But R.J. hasn’t given us any reason to believe that will be a problem. All he cares about is winning.

The Chicago Bulls could use someone like that. The only problem with R.J. is the positional fit on the court.

Zach LaVine and Otto Porter Jr. are likely going to be Bulls for the foreseeable future, so how does R.J., a kid that’s ready to play right now, fit in? The Bulls could slide LaVine over to the point guard position and then have a LaVine-Barrett-Porter 3-headed monster on the perimeter. The athleticism and scoring ability would be tough for opposing defenses to contain. But I’m not completely sold on LaVine as a point guard.

Another option would be to use Barrett as the sixth man. Then, the Bulls could play lineups where they have a point guard (it remains to be seen who this would be), LaVine, Barrett, Porter and Lauri Markkanen all on the court at the same time. That has the potential to be one of the scariest offensive lineups in the league.

Ultimately, though, the questions regarding his fit don’t really matter. If the Bulls think R.J. is the best prospect available when they’re on the clock, they should take him and worry about the fit later.

Maybe Chicago thinks Ja Morant (point guard) is the better prospect. If that’s the case, then that’s fine. I get it. But the Bulls shouldn’t dismiss R.J. Barrett as a draft target. He has the potential to take Chicago to the next level.