3. Ryan Arcidiacono, Point Guard
Last offseason, the Bulls handed a deserved contract extension to the former National Championship-winning Villanova Wildcats 6-foot-3 and 195 pound point guard Ryan Arcidiacono. After a better than anticipated run during the 2018-19 regular season, Arcidiacono received a three-year contract extension worth around $9 million.
Arcidiacono isn’t putting up as efficient numbers this season as he did last, but he is still providing value for the Bulls off the bench. In 58 games played this season (four of which he started), Arcidiacono averaged 4.5 points per game, 1.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.1 blocks. He shot 40.9 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 71.1 percent from the free-throw line.
Most of the advanced metrics and shooting percentages are down for Arcidiacono compared to the previous season. A lot of that could be due to the limited role he played in this season compared to last. But at least his shooting percentages from downtown are looking pretty good. He’s a career 37.3 percent shooter from beyond the arc, but nearing 40 percent for the first time in his career.
Moreover, Arcidiacono’s true shooting percentage for his career of 57.4 is very solid. His true shooting percentage is down this season to just over 55.0, but things could be trending back up next season if he’s put in a better role than during the 2019-20 campaign. His adjusted three-point shooting is also five percent better than the league average for his career (and nine percent better this season), adjusted free-throw percentage is eight percent higher, and adjusted true shooting is two percent higher.
The solid shooting of Arcidiacono off the bench shouldn’t be value that is overlooked by the Bulls new front office regime moving forward.