1. Wendell Carter Jr., Center
Maybe the most promising future centerpiece for the Chicago Bulls in the midst of the third year of this rebuild is second-year former Duke Blue Devils center Wendell Carter Jr. It’s a shame that WCJ went down with an ankle sprain in a road game last month against the Dallas Mavericks. He was doing well progressing in his second year up until that point.
When WCJ went out with that ankle sprain in early January, the original prognosis was a recovery time of four-to-six weeks. He should be nearing the point at which he will be re-evaluated and possibly return to the Bulls starting lineup.
Prior to going down with that ankle injury, WCJ was averaging 11.7 points per game, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, while shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 73.6 percent from the charity stripe.
The Bulls definitely need the presence of Carter Jr. on both ends of the floor to compete. Boylen’s defensive system just has too many holes in it down low when they have to play either backup center Luke Kornet or the inconsistent Cristiano Felicio in place of the injured WCJ. Carter Jr. has already topped the number of defensive win shares he posted during his rookie campaign, and his defensive box plus/minus rating is sitting around a solid 1.5
Boylen is misusing his frontcourt pieces just about as bad as anyone so far this season. Veteran power forward Thaddeus Young might be on the trade block for that very reason.
Maybe Carter Jr. will get a more solidified role to develop his game next season. But for now he’s still showing the ability to increase his range, be an extremely versatile defender down low, and facilitate the offense when he’s used outside of the paint on offense. His vision is outstanding when he’s working down low too.