Chicago Bulls: Ranking which players should return next season
Who shouldn’t return for the Chicago Bulls
This portion of the list will have two of the five players that sat in Johnson’s top five in his ranking in the NBC Sports Chicago piece, and then one more for good measure. I’ll also put a confidence meter for each choice on this part of the list.
Denzel Valentine, Shooting Guard
There might be a few teams that still want to snag Valentine if the Bulls to give him a qualifying offer in restricted free agency this year. He’s a potential solid facilitator, creator, and shooter on the wing. And that’s something that is still very valuable in the modern NBA.
During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Valentine averaged 6.8 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, in 36 games played.
Confidence meter that he’ll return: 3/10
Luke Kornet, Center
A player that I really feel like deserves a change of scenery and just didn’t work out in his inaugural season with the Bulls during the 2019-20 campaign is the former New York Knicks seven-footer and center Kornet. Just like Valentine, Kornet played in 36 games during the shortened 2019-20 regular season with the Bulls.
Kornet averaged 6.0 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks. And he pretty took a step back in pretty much every significant all-encompassing advanced metric during the 2019-20 season.
Confidence meter that he’ll return: 6/10
Cristiano Felicio, Power Forward/Center
The one player on this part of the list that was no where close to the top Bulls players that won’t return next season from Johnson is the overpaid 6-foot-10 and 270 pound big man Cristiano Felicio. Johnson stated that Felicio could be a valuable piece, given his $8 million salary roughly, at the trade deadline. Still, it would be nice to see him off the roster as soon as possible.