Chicago Bulls: Denzel Valentine wants to re-sign with the team

The fourth-year Chicago Bulls shooting guard Denzel Valentine apparently wants to re-sign with this team in this cycle of free agency.

As one of the four major impending free agent guards that the Chicago Bulls have to make a decision about this offseason, and in the next couple of days, former Michigan State Spartans shooting guard Denzel Valentine is an important name to watch in the near future. This 26-year-old 6-foot-4 and 220 pound wing was the 14th overall pick of the Bulls in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Yet, Valentine really has yet to live up to the hype of being a lottery draft pick for the Bulls. He’s also ran into a number of injury problems and poor fits with a couple of different coaching staffs. Valentine missed the entirety of the 2018-19 regular season, and a good bit of the season that was for the Bulls.

In the final year of his rookie contract during the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Valentine didn’t really do a whole lot to prove his worth to show why the new front office regime should bring him back in free agency this offseason. He’s set to be a restricted free agent, and likely should get at least a two-way contract elsewhere heading into next season.

But it does appear that Valentine wants to come back with the Bulls heading into next season. He reportedly stated that he “would definitely love to be part of the team”, presumably for the 2020-21 campaign. And he said that “we have great chemistry here” along with a few other notes on this team and his teammates.

Valentine played in 36 games during the 2019-20 season with the Bulls (starting in five of them). He averaged 6.8 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.2 blocks. And Valentine shot 40.9 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Throughout his three years playing for the Bulls thus far, Valentine has registered a -1.6 box plus/minus rating, 0.4 value over replacement player rating, .048 win shares per 48 minutes, 3.6 total win shares, 51.6 true shooting percentage, and a 10.9 player efficiency rating. None of the advanced metrics for Valentine really gives a great argument for Valentine to get re-signed by the new front office regime.

The other three key free agent guards that the Bulls have to decide on this offseason are combo guard Shaquille Harrison, point guard Kris Dunn, and shooting guard/wing Adam Mokoka. This cycle of free agency begins on Oct. 18, in just a couple of days for the Bulls.