At a good position at this point of the offseason, the Chicago Bulls could see a breakthrough season from big man Daniel Gafford in his second year.
Possibly the biggest knock on the game of the Chicago Bulls rookie former Arkansas Razorbacks rim-running center Daniel Gafford is the lack of offensive versatility that he brings to the table. Gafford did have a very limited shooting range during his two years playing for the Arkansas basketball program, and that looked to be something that would predictably translate early in his NBA career.
During his rookie season with the Bulls, Gafford didn’t have a single three-point attempt, and he saw a whopping 82.8 percent of his field goal attempts come within three-feet of the rim. Just .7 percent of his field goal attempts came from at least 10-feet from the rim.
And the shooting efficiency of Gafford drastically dropped once he got beyond three feet from the rim. He shot just 40.9 percent between three and 10 feet from the rim. And 45.5 percent of his field goal attempts were dunks.
It started to become clear as Gafford’s rookie season moved along what role he could thrive in right out of the gates. The scrappy rebounder and bouncy rim protector was very solid at what he was used to. Gafford did register a stout 8.7 block percentage and 8.4 rebounds per 100 possessions.
Chicago Bulls forward Daniel Gafford said on IG Live with @jessjack_00 that he has been working on his extending his game, becoming more of an attack the basket guy.
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) August 17, 2020
Gafford: "A lot of guys are going to come back hungry. Guys are going to come back with vengeance."
The area where Gafford could continue to improve his game and overall versatility is clear heading into his first full offseason in the NBA. And he looks to be getting started already on improving his shooting range and offensive arsenal this offseason. In a reported Instagram Live segment on Aug. 16, Gafford shared that he was working on “extending his game” and “becoming more of an attack the basket guy”.
If the Bulls could get a version of Gafford that brings a more versatile offensive arsenal to the table, it could make a tremendous impact on the strength of the frontcourt rotation. It would also make Gafford that much more of a crucial part of the Bulls building young core.
In 43 games played in the season that was for Gafford and the Bulls, he averaged 5.1 points per game, 2.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks. He shot 70.1 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from the free-throw line.