1) Chicago Bulls bound to disappoint
Although the expectations probably won’t be all that high for the former Michigan State Spartans 6-foot-4 and 220 pound 27-year-old shooting guard Denzel Valentine this season, he still will have some pressure on him to pick up his performance. Valentine will also need to stay healthy for him to make the Bulls re-signing him out of restricted free agency worth it.
Karnisovas and the Bulls brought Valentine back on a one-year contract, worth just shy of $5 million. It was a bit of a puzzling move considering the Bulls didn’t extend qualifying offers to other restricted free agent guards like the defensive stopper Kris Dunn (signed with the Atlanta Hawks) and breakthrough combo guard Shaquille Harrison (still available in free agency).
It’s not like the Bulls took a huge risk bringing back Valentine, but there’s definitely a large faction of the fan base that thinks that money would’ve been better spent elsewhere. That’s why he needs to prove out of the gates in Training Camp and the preseason that he’s ready for a healthy and productive run this season.
During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Valentine played in three dozen games with the Bulls (five of which he started in). And he averaged 6.8 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 0.7 turnovers. Valentine shot 40.9 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line.
It will surely be interesting to see how Valentine’s game fits into the philosophy behind where Donovan and Karnisovas are taking this Bulls rebuild.