Chicago Bulls: 3 players that should see their minutes decline in 2020-21

3) Chicago Bulls that could see their minutes decline

No matter what, it felt like the role of the towering 7-foot-2 former Vanderbilt Commodores center Luke Kornet was going to dwindle this season after the departure of former Bulls head coach Jim Boylen. It felt like Kornet was Boylen’s guy in the frontcourt rotation last season, and there was some intrigue about how his skill set would fit in with this team.

Kornet ideally was going to be a reliable stretch big man that could both space the floor and protect the rim for the Bulls. But he wasn’t very reliable last season in a number of ways. His shooting efficient from deep dropped a good bit last season, as did his blocks per game. And he was injured for much of his inaugural campaign with the Bulls.

Entering the 2020-21 season, Kornet is in the final year of the contract he signed with the Bulls last offseason. Kornet was signed down to a two-year minimum contract out of free agency last offseason, so at least he’s not taking up much of the cap sheet this year.

During the shortened 2019-20 regular season, Kornet played in three dozen games for the Bulls (14 of which he started in). And he averaged 6.0 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks. Kornet shot 43.9 percent from the field, 28.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Last season, Kornet played in almost 16 minutes per game, which is not a lot of time on the floor. But since the Bulls do have the likes of the rookie forward Williams, big man Noah Vonleh, and an improving Daniel Gafford still in the frontcourt rotation, the playing time of Kornet could fall further. Not to mention the Bulls still have others bigs like veteran Thaddeus Young, power forward Lauri Markkanen, and center Wendell Carter Jr. around this season.