Chicago Bulls: Players Passed on for Denzel Valentine — Caris LeVert
Caris LeVert was selected just one pick after the Denver Nuggets selected Malik Beasley in the 2016 draft. At 20th overall, LeVert went six spots later than Valentine.
Like Beasley right before him, he has panned out already in a much bigger and better way than Valentine despite Valentine being a competent NBA-level player. It is just that LeVert has absolutely balled out and still can and will grow while Valentine, at best, will be asked to play very specific roles in a rotation moving forward.
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LeVert can be a featured player on a very solid to good team in the coming seasons and asking for that from Denzel Valentine would be laughable. They do have some things in common, though.
LeVert was not far from Valentine in their college days as he featured for the Michigan basketball program compared to Valentine’s Michigan State basketball program. Also, both players entered the NBA Draft coming off of four-year stints at the college level and had some level of questions regarding long-term health.
LeVert was on track to play a key role for the already contending Brooklyn Nets before being traded in the James Harden mega deal. The 26-year-old has improved his game each and every year since entering the league and is close to becoming a 20 points per night scorer if he continues his ascent.
For the Pacers this season he is scoring 18.7 points per game while also doing a little bit of everything else on the offensive end of the floor. LeVert has an exciting game and can be someone that an offense relies on nightly, which Denzel Valentine has yet to become.