Chicago Bulls: 3 draft targets that could replace Denzel Valentine

He was extended an offer from the Chicago Bulls, but there’s still no guarantee that the staff won’t try to find a future replacement for Denzel Valentine.

Among the potential free agent guards that the Chicago Bulls look to potentially see out this offseason, the most likely to leave once looked to be the Windy City could be the former Michigan State Spartans shooting guard Denzel Valentine. The 6-foot-4 26-year-old impending restricted free agent was in the midst of the final year of his rookie contract during the 2019-20 season. And he didn’t do much to prove his value to become an integral part of the rotation moving forward from his production and efficiency last season.

The lack of a consistent bill of health from Valentine would also be cause for concern were the Bulls to bring him back for at least one more year. But the Bulls did extend Valentine a qualifying offer on Nov. 16, meaning that he could be on his way back heading into next season. The qualifying offer that Valentine received was worth just over $4.5 million.

Since that point, the Bulls have not extended qualifying offers to the likes of other impending free agent guards Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison. It is somewhat surprising that the Bulls didn’t decide to offer Dunn or Harrison, since they were both healthier and more efficient than Valentine over the course of the last two years, but they did for the former Spartans shooting guard/wing.

The Bulls hold the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, and the original Memphis Grizzlies 44th overall pick in the second round. They have a lot of room to make other trades and get some additional draft capital, or move some out. But these two could be solid draft slots to help the Bulls plug any positional/rotational needs.

Here’s a look at three potential draft targets that the Bulls could use to replace Valentine if he gets another offer and doesn’t return heading into the 2020-21 season.