The 2019 NBA Draft board is starting to figure itself out a bit at the top with point guard Ja Morant and forward Zion Williamson as the clear top two. Yet, whoever lands the third pick looks to have a shot at getting a potential star if all works out well with Duke’s R.J. Barrett. As part of the Duke trio that had so much touting last season, Barrett is starting to build more hype.
The other two prospects coming out of Duke will be names to watch at the NBA Combine too. But none is more important to the Bulls if the pick falls outside the top two than Barrett. If the Bulls wind up at No. 1, then obviously nabbing Zion becomes the focus and the excitement. Landing outside the top five could bring the possibility of selecting Cam Reddish to the forefront.
However, Barrett is also a very difficult prospect to figure out in terms of how his skill set will translate to the NBA. He is a volume scorer that has a very high ceiling in the NBA. The odds that he just becomes another 35-40 percent shooter from the field that eats up a bunch of usage is also pretty high.
Barrett’s defensive prowess is also an area of question. He posted a defensive rating below 96 last season and was well below the team average in defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus. If Barrett can show enough that he has the promise to fix those defensive issues early in his NBA career, this could be a worthy pick for the Bulls potentially at No. 3.