Why Malcolm Brogdon is the perfect fit for the Chicago Bulls
By Zack Kobler
With a little over three weeks before free agency begins, the Chicago Bulls find themselves in a state to improve their starting point guard position.
In recent memory, the Chicago Bulls’ front office has disappointed its fan base with lackluster signings. Gar Forman and John Paxson hindered the rebuilding process by signing a very out of prime Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo in 2016. They would make the playoffs but subsequently lost in six to the Celtics. The front office was preparing us for what we should expect from a franchise that does its absolute best living in Michael Jordan’s shadow.
That summer, following their first-round exit, the Chicago Bulls would buy out Dwyane Wade’s contract, waive Rajon Rondo, and trade away Jimmy Butler for the seventh pick, Zach LaVine, and Kris Dunn. The rebuild that should have started a year prior, was finally beginning, even though Jimmy Butler would have been perfect to build around. Fast forward to free agency and you find yourself witnessing a four-year, $32 million deal for the one and only Cristiano Felicio, who’s only capable of making coaches and fans alike, wanting to rip their hair out. They also went on to resign Nikola Mirotic and added Justin Holiday to the roster — those were okay signings.
This past year’s free agency continued the same trend. LaVine would get his four-year, $78 million deal but first needed to go through a period of the Bulls not being sure if they wanted to keep him — Sacramento offered that deal first. Thankfully, the Bulls made the correct decision, matching the offer sheet and LaVine responded with a career year for the Windy City. Of course, one correct decision had to follow up with a terrible one. Jabari Parker became a Chicago Bull with an outrageous contract that would then be shipped off to Washington alongside Bobby Portis for Otto Porter Jr.
Maybe it wasn’t such a terrible decision after all.
Now, Forman and Paxson are faced with deciding if this summer’s overwhelming heap of talent is worth buying into. They came out publicly and said that every starter besides the point guard position is solid, leaving Kris Dunn in a complete free-fall out of the rotation more than likely by the start of next season. If Dunn’s services are no longer required in Chicago, there is one free agent point guard in particular that will certainly make an impact the moment he steps foot on the United Center floor.
The former and controversial rookie of the year, Malcolm Brogdon, is the best free agent that the Bulls should sign. Although Brogdon is a restricted free agent, he will more than likely not be able to remain in Milwaukee with all of the players they need to resign. A high IQ player on both ends of the court, who is also apart of the 50/40/90 club, can push the pace or slow it down to create the best scoring chance for his team or himself. He rarely takes a bad shot and took full advantage of Mike Budenholzer’s system while averaging 15.6 points per game to go with a 42 percent clip from the 3-point line on 3.8 attempts per game.
Even though he only averaged 3.8 assists this season, he did have to give up the ball for Giannis Antetokounmpo isolation plays and Kris Middleton pick and pops. Brogdon’s precise passing and keen vision on the floor could set up perfectly for an Otto Porter Jr. cut to the basket or a transition 3 from Lauri Markkanen.
Brogdon had two decisions coming off the pick from Thon Maker because he was able to draw three defenders on him: A) Continue to the elbow and pass back to Ersan Ilyasova for a wide-open 3 or B) make a bounce pass to a cutting Pat Connaughton on the baseline. Either decision would have been perfect but by the time he reached the elbow, Ryan Arcidiacano is caught ball watching and Robin Lopez is frozen in the paint leading to an easy two points.
But his passing also creates space for him to attack the rim, even if someone is trailing him or a big is patiently waiting to block his shot. Brogdon has zero fear and that’s what makes his decision making so enticing for this young Chicago Bulls team. A point guard that looks for teammates but can create for himself off the dribble is intoxicating.
After a pump-fake that gets DeMar DeRozan to bite, he puts the ball on the floor and attacks LaMarcus Aldridge with his left-hand, shielding the ball with his body to kiss the ball off the glass. There are times when he does something similar but can still look to pass out to Brook Lopez waiting for a 3.
For Jim Boylen to have Brogdon on the floor, maybe Bulls fans would start to believe in him as a head coach. With a defensive anchor in Wendell Carter Jr. and Brogdon guarding the teams best ball handler, the sky is the limit. Brogdon can guard 1-3 and was guarding Kawhi Leonard in the Eastern Conference Finals when Kris Middleton sat out, although, he probably should have been on Pascal Siakam and Giannis on Kawhi. This definitely would help Zach LaVine hide on the worst offensive player on any given night.
Even when the size advantage is against Brogdon, it doesn’t mean he will concede any easy buckets. Paul Millsap is known to bully his defenders — look to Al-Farouq Aminu — but Brogdon kept Millsap in front of him, not letting him take the baseline or get to the paint for his little patented hook shot. Instead, we see a terrible shot before help even comes from Middleton and Millsap whining for a foul call moments later.
His defense is a commodity in itself and also vastly underrated.
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Adding Malcolm Brogdon to the 2019-2020 Chicago Bulls would certainly speed up the rebuild to potentially contending for a lower seed in the playoffs. Even with the addition of the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft of either Coby White or Darius Garland as the back-up point guard, Brogdon could teach either guy about great shot selection and how to be highly unpredictable for whoever matches up in front of them. Malcolm Brogdon is a methodical mastermind and the Bulls’ front office should do whatever they can to get him in the red, black and white.