Chicago Bulls: Players Passed on for Denzel Valentine — Pascal Siakam
Arguably the top player the Bulls passed on in the 2016 NBA Draft is current Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam. He is quickly becoming an accomplished NBA star.
The 27th overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft has won an NBA Championship, made an all-star team, made an all NBA team and won the award for the NBA’s most improved player. All this in just his first four seasons in the NBA.
Now in season five, Siakam is becoming the face of the Toronto Raptors franchise since Kawhi Leonard left the team in free agency. It wasn’t until year three in the NBA the forward started making the kind of impact that made league-wide fans notice him. When they began noticing him, though, it was hard to forget.
That season he averaged 16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Alongside Leonard and Kyle Lowry he helped the Raptors win the NBA Championship. Once Leonard left, Siakam stepped up and into his role on the team as the featured forward.
That is when he made his first all-star appearance in the NBA. It was much deserved behind his averages of 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He doesn’t limit himself to the offensive side of the floor, either. That year he averaged 1 steal and .9 blocks per game, proving to be a two-may menace on the court.
At New Mexico State, Siakam was an impact player his sophomore campaign before entering the NBA Draft. He averaged a double-double and added 2.2 blocks per game. If the Chicago Bulls could go back in time, they would love to make the selection of Siakam instead of Denzel Valentine at fourteenth overall in the 2016 NBA Draft.