The palpable difference between what the former five-star combo guard recruit and Texas native RJ Hampton gets between playing at a Duke, UNC, or Kansas, and going to the NBL will be interesting. Hampton and Ball will be the two most followed players this season in the NBL by far. Even the NBL Blitz was a far reaching event for the first time possibly ever.
However, Hampton brings a very different skill set to the table than LaMelo. Although Hampton is about three inches shorter than Ball, he has a more polished game on both ends of the floor. His shot is more developed and he can be a shooting threat right away after he’s drafted into the NBA.
Why the Chicago Bulls should be following closely with Hampton is the variance and pure skill he would bring to the backcourt for head coach Jim Boylen. The elusiveness and versatility of Hampton could immediately spark the offense that ran pretty slow for most of last season for Boylen and the Bulls.
Hampton does need to work on the consistency of his facilitating ability when the shot isn’t there. While his role as a floor general could be great, especially when he’s running in transition, but there’s boneheaded plays from him from time to time. The Bulls would also need to likely land in the top six in the draft lottery to snag a player with a pretty high floor like Hampton.