4) Chicago Bulls free agent targets to replace Denzel Valentine: Troy Daniels
A true journeyman that would be a low-risk replacement option for the Bulls, if they don’t choose to keep Valentine around beyond this offseason, is 6-foot-4 and 200 pound shooting guard of the Denver Nuggets Troy Daniels. The 29-year-old Roanoke, VA, native and VCU basketball product spent the 2019-20 season split between the Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.
The ironic part about that is that Daniels could be facing the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, if LA gets past the Houston Rockets and the Nuggets upset the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the playoffs.
But Daniels had a decent run with both the Lakers and Nuggets, but this season is somewhat of a down campaign for him compared to his usual production.
Daniels played in 47 games during the 2019-20 regular season (starting in none of them). He averaged 4.3 points per game, 1.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks. Daniels shot 38.7 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.
For a bit of time there was the connection between recently hired Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and Daniels with the Nuggets. Karnisovas is the former Nuggets general manager, and will now be taking over as the lead voice in the front office in the Windy City.
Karnisovas has to know that Daniels is usually a much better producer than he’s been in the current season. He is a career shooter better than 40 percent from the field and just shy of the same percentage from beyond the arc. Daniels theoretically wouldn’t cost the Bulls much of anything, so he could be a solid replacement on the wing for Valentine.