Chicago Bulls: 4 free agents who could replace Denzel Valentine

2) Chicago Bulls free agent targets to replace Denzel Valentine: Josh Jackson

Former Kansas Jayhawks five-star recruit and the ultra-talented small forward Josh Jackson finally found some traction with an NBA team. After he was the fourth overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 2017 NBA Draft out of the Kansas hoops program, Jackson still came into the league with a lot of expectations on his shoulders.

The Suns wound up parting ways with Jackson before the end of his rookie contract, but he found a more proficient home with the Memphis Grizzlies this season. Memphis might want to keep him around beyond this offseason to continue growing with their potent and talented young core, alongside Rookie of the Year honoree and point guard Ja Morant and forward Jaren Jackson Jr.

There’s still a lot to buy into in terms of the potential that Jackson brings to the table. He started to show that high ceiling and tremendous promise finally start to shine through a bit during the 2019-20 regular season. He played in 22 games with the Grizzlies during the 2019-20 regular season (starting in none of them).

Jackson averaged 9.0 points per game, 3.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks. He shot 44.0 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 70.0 percent from the free-throw line. This was the first season that Jackson had a player efficiency rating above 12.0, true shooting percentage north of 50.0, box plus/minus rating better than -4.0, and a positive number of win shares.

Buy into the progress if the Bulls have a solid head coaching hire to develop young talent, and they can get Jackson at a value price tag.