Center
Starter: Wendell Carter Jr.
The fourth and final piece of the starting five that Boylen and the Chicago Bulls had to be excited about heading into the offseason included former Duke Blue Devils star big man Wendell Carter Jr. The Bulls saw flashes out of Carter Jr. last season, but he still has a long way to go on both ends of the floor.
What Carter Jr. needs to do better this season is increase his range so that he becomes more of a pick-and-roll threat for White, Satoransky, and LaVine. Carter Jr. has the potential to become a great modern center in multiple aspects. He’s a talented rim protector that had a nice block rate of 4.5 percent and averaged 2.5 blocks per 100 possessions during his rookie campaign.
Carter Jr. is a key piece for the Bulls to center this growing team around. He shows great levels of maturity in his game that are well beyond his years. It’s rare that a center his age has a defensive box plus/minus and defensive win shares amidst the team leaders and show as much promise as he does on offense.
This will be Carter Jr.’s position this year. If he shows the ability to log heavier minutes while staying healthy, he could take a big leap forward in the absence of veteran center Robin Lopez. RoLo will be joining his brother, Brook, after signing a deal at a value dollar amount to play with the Milwaukee Bucks.