5 defensive stoppers the Chicago Bulls wish they still had

A former member of the Chicago Bulls that they had a chance to get back in the mix during the offseason is the Minnesota Timberwolves big man Noah Vonleh. The former Indiana Hoosiers standout Vonleh is already a career journeyman in the NBA, just six seasons in. He’s still just 24-years-old and trying to solidify a role with a single NBA landing spot.

However, Vonleh did play in 21 games with the Bulls back during the 2017-18 season. That 2017-18 campaign was one of the worst in recent memory for the Bulls, and they trotted out a number of different options in the frontcourt rotation as Hoiberg was trying to make whatever he could out of a very lackluster roster.

But what Vonleh does bring to the table is a stable defensive presence that is hard to match for a player that comes with his very affordable price tag. Vonleh is a deep second or third unit big man that can offer a lot of value and versatility. The Timberwolves are paying him just around a $2 million minimum this season.

It’s rare that you get a player like Vonleh who is usually efficient on both ends of the floor, but has around twice as many career defensive win shares as offensive. He also has a career defensive box plus/minus around 0.5, which isn’t too shabby. He does hit a middle ground of posting a defensive rating around 108-110, which is nothing, special but at least he’s reliable on that end of the floor really for whatever team he’s with.