Chicago Bulls: Does Denzel Valentine belong in NBA or the G-League?

Is there anyway that the Chicago Bulls shooting guard Denzel Valentine could remain on an NBA roster next year if he can’t finish out the season right?

For the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season, shooting guard Denzel Valentine will be fighting for his NBA future during the rest of his run with the Chicago Bulls. Valentine seemingly just rubbed head coach Jim Boylen the wrong way for much of the regular season since he’s not getting into a wing rotation that was paper thin most of the way. He’s played in just 31 of the Bulls 60 games so far this season.

Come this offseason, Valentine will be a restricted free agent. There seems to be little to no reason for the Bulls to try and re-sign him once his offer sheet comes about. Boylen isn’t going to utilize his semi-valuable skill set as a wing off the bench well. Let him walk and go elsewhere.

But a real question that any other potential suitors will ask of Valentine in free agency will be is he an NBA level shooting guard/wing?

That could be a real concern if Valentine doesn’t finish out the regular season on a high-note. Once he started getting less and less playing time of late, his production started to fall off. And if he’s not getting a very significant role on a team as bad as the Bulls, then how will other actual contenders around the NBA view his value this summer?

This appears to be a point that Valentine understands too.

According to a report from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Valentine understands that he is “playing for his NBA future” for the remainder of the regular season. This quote really sums up where Valentine’s head is at, and needs to be at for the rest of the season: “it’s huge to prove to myself and to everybody else that I belong for good”.

However, Valentine did do some good things this season that could land him a low-level contract with a team that really needs help with outside shooting deeper down the bench. He did contribute at a higher level for the Bulls when he was getting actual consistent playing time off the bench this season.

In the 31 games he’s played in so far this season, Valentine averaged 5.8 points per game, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists, while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. That all amounted to a player efficiency rating of 12.9 and 0.4 win shares.

Is the production that Valentine showed so far this season good enough to warrant staying in the NBA beyond this summer, though?

Valentine definitely could wind up spending some time in the G-League next season if he lands on a deeper contender out of free agency. He might have to prove himself in a brief G-League stint if he can’t finish out this season on a high-note.

Most people would hold the opinion that Valentine will never be a starting quality shooting guard or wing on any NBA team at any point of his career. But his role should amount to something like a 10th-12th man that can find a good rhythm as a facilitator and outside shooter off the bench. With confidence and when he’s healthy, Valentine does belong on an NBA roster. If not, he’ll likely find himself in the G-League for the foreseeable future.