Chicago Bulls’ NBA Draft prospects: Dylan Windler should be a priority
By Luke Askew
Belmont forward Dylan Windler is one of the best shooters in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls should do everything in their power to land him with their second pick.
It’s no secret that the Chicago Bulls need to add 3-point shooting to their roster. During the 2018-19 season, they were last in the league in 3-point makes per game. In a league where 3-point shooting is more important than anything else, the Bulls making slightly more than nine 3-pointers per game is unacceptable.
The NBA Draft is a great place to find cheap, capable 3-point shooters. This means that this Bulls team needs to keep its head on a swivel and be ready to make some moves for a guy named Dylan Windler.
Windler played four seasons at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. During his senior season, he was one of the most efficient high-volume scorers in college hoops. The word “efficient” paired with the term “high-volume scorer” should already have Bulls fans interested. Efficient scorers are always needed in basketball. But when those efficient scorers can stretch the floor 30 feet? Sheesh. Say no more.
During his senior season, Windler averaged an impressive 21.3 points per game on insanely efficient .540/.429/.847 shooting splits. It’s not like Windler was one of those low-volume spot-up 3-point shooters, though. His 42.9% from behind the arc came on 7.1 attempts per game. Plenty of those 3-point attempts were from way outside, too.
Windler has an effective handle that he uses to get his shot off from anywhere on the court, he moves extremely well without the ball and he has a high basketball IQ. When you watch Windler play, it’s clear that he gets it. I’m not exactly sure what “it” is but Windler knows. He gets it.
Scoring isn’t all Windler can do. At 6 feet 8 inches, “D-Wind” (I just made this nickname up but I think I’ll stick with it) is an elite rebounder. During his senior season at Belmont, he averaged 10.8 (10.8!) rebounds per game. This speaks to his aforementioned basketball IQ. Understanding angles is just as important to rebounding as physical prowess.
My favorite part of Windler’s game is that he’s not afraid of the moment. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Windler put up 35 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field and 7-of-14 shooting from 3-point land to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds against a better-seeded Maryland team. Windler also only turned the ball over one time. Belmont would end up losing by two points in heartbreaking fashion, but D-Wind put his team in position to go for the improbable upset.
You’re probably thinking this is all too good to be true for a Bulls team that needs someone exactly like Windler – and you’re probably correct. It’s highly unlikely that D-Wind will still be available when the Bulls are on the clock in the second round. That’s why they need to explore trading up.
If they can trade up into the later part of the first round, the Bulls will have a decent shot at landing Windler, i.e., the perfect player for the franchise.
It’s impossible to know how much it would take to move from pick No. 38 to somewhere in the 21-28 range, but it’s worth exploring. If it means giving up the No. 38 pick, Denzel Valentine and two future second-rounders, then sign me up.
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D-Wind is the truth. The Bulls need to make drafting him a priority.