Chicago Bulls: 3 draft targets that could replace Denzel Valentine

3) Chicago Bulls draft targets to replace Valentine

The former Louisville Cardinals 6-foot-7 and 225 pound junior forward Jordan Nwora was a potential first round draft prospect heading into the 2019-20 college hoops season. The versatile two-way nature of Nwora’s game combined with the certainty of his production from the 2018-19 season with the Cardinals led to a lot of optimism for where he could develop last year.

Last season, question marks did start to emerge as to the defensive ability of Nwora at the next level, given he’s one of the older prospects in this class at his position, and his efficiency on that end of the floor took a step back. Nwora saw a regression in his defensive rating, defensive box plus/minus rating, steal percentage, and block percentage, during his junior campaign at Louisville.

During the shortened 2019-20 college hoops regular season, Nwora played in 31 games for Louisville (all but one of which he started in). And he averaged 18.0 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks. Nwora shot 44.0 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.3 percent from the free-throw line.

The shot selection and overall shooting efficiency of Nwora improved last season, which is a good marker. His playmaking and facilitating abilities are also pretty underrated. In that regard, Nwora could be a lengthier and more efficient shooting replacement that can play on the wing for head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls. If nothing else, he could at least be a cheaper step up and a better positional fit for the Bulls than Valentine.