3. Wendell Carter Jr., Center
The fact that the Bulls have interest coming in to the former Duke Blue Devils star big man WCJ shows just how much value he still carries. Just because the Bulls might be getting some interest on the trade market for WCJ doesn’t mean they should pull the trigger on any offer, unless it is absolutely too good to pass up.
Entering his third year in the NBA, WCJ will need to take a big leap forward. He’ll need to make similar progress this season compared to what LaVine did over the course of the last two years. But he’ll need to be headed down a different path than what Markkanen did in the season that was, where he mostly disappointed throughout.
What could hold the development of WCJ back next season is if the Bulls keep around head coach Jim Boylen beyond the offseason. But the writing is on the wall that Boylen is coming back for at least one more season, mostly due to the profit-motive of the franchise’s long-time owner Jerry Reinsdorf.
However, WCJ should still be an integral part of this rebuild given his two-way potential and overall basketball IQ. He played in 43 games in the season that was for the Bulls, while averaging 11.3 points per game, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks. His shooting is improving, although his advanced metrics didn’t indicate much of a stride forward in his second year.