Chicago Bulls: 4 biggest draft mistakes ever by John Paxson

2) Biggest Chicago Bulls draft mistakes under Paxson: Gambling on Denzel Valentine

The early-to-mid 2010’s was a very forgettable time for the NBA Draft for the GarPax regime in the Bulls camp. After picking “Jimmy G. Buckets” late in the first round of the 2010 draft, the Bulls didn’t do so hot with many of their first round picks for the next six years. And even the pick of the former Arizona Wildcats power forward Lauri Markkanen with the seventh slot in the 2017 draft hasn’t worked out well thus far.

Mediocre at best lottery picks by GarPax throughout the 2010’s was best highlighted when they selected the former Michigan State 6-foot-4 and 220 pound shooting guard/wing Denzel Valentine 14th overall in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft. The Bulls really should’ve kept one former Michigan State 6-foot-4 shooting guard mentioned on this list, and passed on drafting Valentine.

As an impending restricted free agent this offseason, the Valentine experiment might be over really before it got started. Valentine missed a lot of time for the Bulls in the last four seasons. He missed the entirety of the 2018-19 season with a lower-body injury. And he missed roughly half of last season.

When Valentine was healthy during his four year run with the Bulls, he managed to play in 170 regular season games (42 of which he started in). And he averaged 7.8 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.1 blocks. Valentine shot 40.1 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.3 percent from the free-throw line.

The Bulls passed on the likes of Brooklyn Nets shooting guard/wing Caris LeVert, Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, and Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon, among others, to select Valentine 14th overall in the 2016 draft lottery.