Franchise cornerstones for the Chicago Bulls No. 1: Thaddeus Young
The surprise addition to this list for the Bulls at this point of the season is the veteran 13-year-old forward and 32-year-old Thaddeus Young. The Bulls got one of the least productive and efficient seasons of Young’s career to date in his inaugural run with the team last year under the direction of former head coach Jim Boylen.
Now that Young is a starter under Donovan’s coaching regime, his game has taken off compared to where it was at under Boylen. So far this season, Young has averaged a career-best 4.4 assists per game, is shooting more than 15 percent better from the field than he did last season, and posting nearly 1.5 more rebounds per game.
Young became an integral part of the Bulls bench earlier in the season, as a staple veteran that made everyone around him better. But he’s now become a starter as Donovan has manuevered third-year Wendell Carter Jr. out of the starting five. With Young and fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen assuming the starting duties in the frontcourt, this could be a pairing to watch for a while.
At one point, it looked like the Bulls were bound to trade Young at the deadline later on next week. But now that he’s assumed a starting role in the second half of the regular season, Young might be off the market. His contract, which now has two years left on it and is worth around $12.5 million annually, might be a good value for them the rest of the way.