Chicago Bulls: 5 takeaways from Las Vegas Summer League play

Chicago Bulls (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Chicago Bulls (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

1. Daniel Gafford has all the makings of a quality rotational center

Drafting well is a factor that kept GarPax at least a little bit in a positive light for the fan base and local media for the Chicago Bulls the past three summers. Even dating back to the 2017 offseason, when GarPax made the trade to send Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a return of Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markkanen looks good.

What is starting to seem as a real gem find for the Bulls in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft is the rim running former Razorback Daniel Gafford. In Summer League, Gafford showed that he might be the most dominant force and just all-around best player for the Bulls. Gafford averaged a team-leading 13.8 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and an amazing 2.8 blocks.

He also led the team in player efficiency rating (29.5), win shares (0.95), offensive rating (133.4), and in rebounding percentage (15.45). Potentially the most outstanding part of the production and numbers that Gafford registered in Summer League was his true shooting percentage. Shooting what was an actually pretty good free-throw percentage (65) amounted to an overall true shooting percentage of 69.3 percent.

This Summer League outing from Gafford wasn’t just special in terms of the numbers and highlights he produced, he began to prove that he deserves a significant role from Boylen this coming season. The rookie campaign for Gafford should give him the chance to contribute right away and get a lot of playing time off the bench in a Bulls uniform.