Chicago Bulls: Could Javonte Green challenge Denzel Valentine’s minutes

It was a big day for first-year Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on March 25. They made the most of their trade deadline opportunity, and dramatically reshaped the way this roster was built.

The festivities on trade deadline day started for the Bulls on the morning of March 25, as they landed the former Orlando Magic star big man Nikola Vucevic and forward Al-Farouq Aminu. Then the action continued to pick up for Karnisovas and the Bulls as they nabbed Mo Wagner and Troy Brown Jr. from the Washington Wizards in exchange for second-year center Daniel Gafford and third-year small forward Chandler Hutchison.

The Bulls would eventually exchange Wagner and former New York Knicks center Luke Kornet with the Boston Celtics which got them a return of big man Daniel Theis and shooting guard Javonte Green. Getting the likes of Theis and Green from the Celtics could be one of the most underrated moves of the entire deadline day for the Bulls.

What the Chicago Bulls could get out of Javonte Green?

By far the most under-the-radar addition that the Bulls made on deadline day was landing the 27-year-old former Radford product and undrafted free agent Green. While he might be a shooting guard that helps fill out the rotation this year, and then the future for him is called into question, he’s got a big opportunity ahead in the Windy City.

There’s no single player that the Bulls have in their backcourt rotation that assumes the set in stone second unit spot behind star shooting guard Zach LaVine. A few other Bulls players take up minutes at the two, but the pair to watch behind LaVine are usually shooting guard/wing Denzel Valentine and veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple.

Bringing in Green could challenge the playing time of both Temple and Valentine. But with Temple entrenched in a more firm role in the Bulls rotation as a true veteran voice in the locker room and capable defender on the perimeter, Green would have more of an immediate opportunity to take minutes from Valentine.

Usually, the 27-year-old former Michigan State Spartan Valentine is a capable outside shooter and facilitator of the offense. But this season saw his production slide a good bit of late.

Green is shooting around 58 percent from beyond the arc since February and around 38 percent from beyond the arc since the turn of the calendar year this season. He’s been pretty efficient of late in his role with the Celtics backcourt rotation.

That type of shooting efficiency from deep with the Bulls would be met with open arms from first-year head coach Billy Donovan.

Where Green could really add value for the Bulls backcourt rotation compared to Valentine is on the defensive end of the floor. Green is also 6-foot-4, just like Valentine, but his career 1.1 defensive box plus/minus rating and 2.5 steal percentage/1.5 block percentage, are really solid for a shooting guard. And that production is way better than Valentine’s on defense.

The opportunity is clearly there for Green to get decent minutes off the bench in the Bulls backcourt rotation. He just has to capitalize on any opportunity he’s given out of the gates. His current contract only carries him through the end of this season.

The Bulls hold a record of 19-24 heading into a meeting on the road with legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs on March 27. A new look roster will take on a tough schedule that has nine road meetings in the next 10 games.