1. Thaddeus Young, Power Forward
If only the Chicago Bulls could make the best use of the veteran former Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young this season. He’s getting about the smallest role he ever did as a veteran in the NBA, which doesn’t make much sense.
But the inaugural season for Thad in a Bulls uniform isn’t going as planned thus far. And the discussions continue about Young not being happy with his role in the Windy City, and his weird usage and limited minutes on the floor validates any concerns he has. Boylen might not be making a poorer use of any player at his disposal this season than Young.
However, Young is still averaging 9.0 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three-point range. Young only has a 12.2 player efficiency rating and 0.8 win shares this season. Compare that to last season where he has 6.9 win shares with the Pacers and you arrive at a poor conclusion for his time with the Bulls.
If the Bulls are wise, they will make the most of the trade value that Young carries right now and dish him out to a team that will better utilize him. Giving him just 22.3 minutes on the floor per game is just wrong. And the spike in playing time of late is thanks to nothing more than Boylen being forced to divide up more minutes between him and Markkanen in the wake of the WCJ and Gafford injuries.