Chicago Bulls: 3 deep rotation players that need more playing time

Al-Farouq Aminu, F

There was a definite sign out of the gates from Donovan that the playing time of Aminu was going to dip a few games into his run with the team. Aminu has really only received minutes for the Bulls in his first game with the team post-trade deadline. He’s essentially remained as a healthy scratch from the rotation every game since March 27.

The Bulls are the sixth team that Aminu has played for in his decade-long NBA career. And his minutes were already steadily declining in the last few years between his time with the Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers. Aminu went from playing around 30 minutes per game in his latter days with the Blazers to just over 20 per game with the Magic in the last two seasons.

Moreover, Aminu only got on the floor for 12 minutes in his first game with the Bulls. And he’s sat on the bench ever since. A forward of his length and as a respectable shooter from deep, Aminu can still offer value to this Bulls rotation. Maybe it has to do with his declining offensive effectiveness (offensive box plus/minus rating of -4.8 this season), but Aminu is still a good enough defender to be in an NBA rotation.

The Bulls are getting good production out of the forward duo to Thaddeus Young and rookie Patrick Williams this season. But if they want to add a bit more mobility and switchability to their rotation off the bench, then Aminu could play at the three or the four. He should get more minutes as we head down the stretch.