Otto Porter Jr.
After being traded to Chicago at the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline, Otto Porter Jr. absolutely exploded with the Bulls, playing what is very arguably the best stretch of basketball of his NBA career. Otto was not expected to maintain those crazy numbers going into 2019-2020, but many believed that he would be the third option on this team and at the very least serve as a high-level three-and-D wing.
This was not the case, however, as Porter battled with injuries for virtually all of last season and played well below expectations the few times that he was on the floor.
Although injuries are without a doubt the main reason why Porter is receiving the grade that he is, his lack of presence on the floor had a brutal impact on the team’s lack of success. This is not to say that Porter would have made the difference between them being a playoff team or not, because there were a lot of other mitigating factors that prevented Chicago from being in the top-eight out East.
However, for a player on a max contract, the expectation is to at least be healthy and play solid minutes on a consistent basis. The bar is not particularly high for Porter, but the hope is that he can be healthy enough to serve as a good third or fourth option in 2020-2021.
Grade: C
Denzel Valentine
A third Chicago Bull who was criminally underutilized in 2019-2020 is Denzel Valentine. Valentine does a lot of things well offensively, as he is an effective scorer, floor spacer, and distributor. After missing the entirety of his third professional season with an ankle injury, Valentine found himself playing a career low in minutes per game on the final year of his rookie contract with the Bulls.
The only thing that was noticeably worse about Denzel’s game this season was his efficiency from deep, as he shot below 35% from range for the first time in his career.
Perhaps it is his lack of defensive ability that prompts Jim Boylen to keep him on the bench, but this is yet another example of the Bulls’ head coach wasting a first round talent and serviceable player. With the amount Chicago struggled to score last season, it seems inexcusable for Valentine to sit the bench as much as he did.
Valentine’s future with the Bulls is incredibly up in the air, but it is almost certain that the team will not extend his $4.6 million qualifying offer. I would love to see him come back on a one-year, prove-it-type contract, but even that could be out of the question for the former lottery pick.