If the Bulls do decide to pick up a point guard in this year’s NBA Draft, then it would be a pretty surprising move. They did invest a lot in White, who did start to show what he can really do down the stretch prior to the COVID-19-induced season hiatus. White was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February (also the last month it was announced prior to the hiatus).
However, if there was a scenario where the Bulls could trade down, or even got really lucky in the second round, and the 6-foot-4 and 175 pound 19-year-old French point guard Theo Maledon. There were some decent numbers that Maledon registered while playing with ASVEL in France and in the EuroLeague last season.
Maledon registered a 56.5 true shooting percentage, 6.82 points per game, 2.65 assists, 1.88 rebounds, and 0.56 steals. There are parts of Maledon’s game that do translate well with a number of teams in the modern NBA. He would thrive in a pick-and-roll system since he’s solid on the perimeter and and can turn the corner faster than expected.
He’s also solid off-ball on both ends of the floor for what is usually a high usage point guard. But his limited athletic ceiling could make it difficult to be a top tier perimeter defender in the NBA. That limited athletic ceiling makes the virtual draft workouts key for Maledon, so that various teams could get a better feel for where he’s at right now.