3. Denzel Valentine, Shooting Guard
It’s easy to slot a player that was in the final year of his rookie contact anyway on this list, like the former Michigan State Spartans shooting guard Denzel Valentine. Given the poor fit for Valentine for most of the regular season to date under head coach Jim Boylen, it makes a lot of sense at this point to let him walk this coming offseason.
There is an argument for Valentine to get a shot with another NBA team before he is relegated down to the G-League. Injury issues are usually a problem for Valentine on a consistent basis, but he’ll definitely have plenty of time to rest up by now. He’s a rhythm shooter with good court vision, little defensive ability, and a lot of injury struggles.
Yet, the good news for any prospective teams that could be looking to sign Valentine out of free agency is the fact that a lot of the strengths that he brings to the table won’t take all that long to get back in rhythm. And he’ll have the extra time to rest up in the midst of the season’s pause.
Prior to the hiatus, Valentine played in three-dozen games with the Bulls while averaging 6.8 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.7 steals, while shooting 40.9 percent from the field, and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Valentine did also register a 51.1 true shooting percentage, -0.5 box plus/minus rating, 0.2 value over replacement player rating, and just .048 win shares per 48 minutes. There’s a lot more value that Karnisovas should be able to find elsewhere instead of keeping Valentine around with a potential contract extension.