Chicago Bulls: 3 underrated playmakers to target in 2020 draft

2) Underrated Chicago Bulls playmaker targets in 2020 draft: Nico Mannion

A really big name at the outset of the 2019-20 college hoops season in terms of his stock for the 2020 NBA Draft is the former Arizona Wildcats guard and ex-five-star recruit Nico Mannion. As one of the most highly touted recruits from the 2019 cycle, Mannion had a lot of hype heading into the 2019-20 season.

The shooting and playmaking abilities of Mannion were well highlighted as he made his way to Tucson. But he showed up inconsistently at the outset of his true freshman campaign. Mannion did wind up registering All-PAC-12 Team honors during the 2019-20 season, and made his way to the PAC-12 All-Freshman Team too.

That could be key for a team like the Bulls to buy high on Mannion, who was starting to figure things out down the stretch last season. There’s a real chance that he could slip down draft boards to be available in the middle of the second round.

During the shortened 2019-20 season, Mannion played in 32 games with Arizona. He averaged 14.0 points per game, 2.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals. And Mannion shot 39.2 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Mannion’s raw playmaking and distributing abilities could be really valuable to the Bulls off the bench. He has to figure out his shot selection and overall efficiency from deep, but he did improve as the 2019-20 season waned.