Chicago Bulls: 5 players to watch during the 2019 preseason

5. Daniel Gafford, Center

A very fun player to watch for the Chicago Bulls thus far through two preseason games is the former Arkansas Razorbacks rim-running center Daniel Gafford. Spending two years with the Arkansas basketball program, Gafford was able to completely refine his skill set as a center that can thrive in certain spots on both ends of the floor.

The Bulls should be thrilled about what Gafford showed through the preseason thus far. Effort and production from Gafford on both ends of the floor should only continue through the three remaining preseason games too. As long as second-year center Wendell Carter Jr. is held out of action due to injury, Gafford will continue to get a lot of playing time.

If you put the advanced stats together thus far, Gafford has an offensive rating just above 140 and a player efficiency rating of 26.0. That puts him in the realm of an efficiency of the Houston Rockets superstar shooting guard and former NBA MVP James Harden. But that’s not to be expected of Gafford if there was a reality where he starts for the Bulls as a rookie.

Gafford was the second round pick of the Bulls in this year’s NBA Draft. He’s looking like he could make an immediate impact, which is hard to find nowadays out of second round picks that are rookies. But most of the season for Gafford could be ultimately spent with the G-League affiliate Windy City Bulls.