Chicago Bulls: 3 players who are way too underutilized

2. Denzel Valentine, Shooting Guard

The argument that the former Michigan State Spartans shooting guard Denzel Valentine should get more playing time with the Chicago Bulls down the stretch doesn’t mean much for the future. In all likelihood, Valentine and the Bulls will be parting ways this offseason but he does help the rotation for the time being.

When Valentine is on the floor, it takes a lot of pressure off of other scorers like rookie point guard Coby White and shooting guard Zach LaVine. Valentine is a natural scorer and shot creator, and the Bulls don’t have much of that on their roster. That rings especially true when you consider their lack of wing depth.

In 34 games played so far this season, Valentine is averaging 6.5 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists, while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from beyond the arc. He will be coming off of his rookie contract this summer, and will be fighting to prove his NBA value down the stretch this season.

Valentine saw a pretty significant dip in his three-point shooting percentages of late. A lot of that was due to the change in role from Boylen over the last two months, though. Valentine plays better when he gets more of an opportunity to get in rhythm early and often. He’s a rhythm shooter and can get scorching when he gets going from deep.