Chicago Bulls forward Thaddeus Young has been connected to the Clippers in trade talks. If the Bulls make a deal with the Clippers, Jerome Robinson better be involved.
When the Chicago Bulls signed Thaddeus Young in free agency, it looked like he was going to be the stable, veteran presence that helped the Bulls get back to the playoffs. A few months into the season and things are looking a little different. The Bulls have been bad and Young has been underwhelming in his role. He’s starting to look more and more like someone who will be dealt to a playoff team before the trade deadline.
One team that’s been frequently tied to Young in rumors is the Los Angeles Clippers. This makes perfect basketball sense for the Clips. They could use another versatile forward who can guard multiple positions as they gear up for a deep playoff run. What would the Bulls get in return, though?
If Chicago is going to make a deal with L.A., they need to make sure Jerome Robinson is included in the trade package.
Robinson, the 13th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has had a disappointing start to his NBA career. During his rookie season, he only appeared in 33 contests, averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game and putting up inefficient offensive numbers. It’s hard to be efficient when you can’t get in a rhythm, though. That shows with his abominable 31 percent shooting from deep in his first two seasons.
Last season, Robinson spent a decent chunk of time in the G League, appearing in 24 games and getting a decent workload in. This was where Robinson really flashed his scoring potential, averaging 18.9 points per game on over 40 percent shooting from 3-point land. These are the shooting numbers to pay attention to when looking at Robinson. In the NBA, where he’s shooting 31 percent from deep, he’s only attempting 1.7 per game. In the G League, where he shot over 40 percent from 3-point land, he was attempting 7.2 per game.
The Clippers are in win-now mode and Robinson isn’t high enough on the food chain to be an important part of their rotation. The Bulls, on the other hand, are half in win-now mode and half in player-development mode. That’s right where Robinson belongs.
Chicago is also 27th in the league in offensive rating. He’s nowhere near a complete offensive player, but he has enough raw scoring ability to help the Bulls put the ball in the basket more than they’re doing right now.
I’m not convinced the Clippers are the best team for the Bulls to make a Thad Young deal with, but if it ends up happening, Jerome Robinson better be involved.