Chicago Bulls: 3 astounding players for Billy Donovan in his first year

Chicago Bulls players who were astounding for Billy Donovan: Thaddeus Young

Maybe the most surprising Bulls player that was able to step up and almost always remain a net positive presence on the floor was veteran 32-year-old forward Thaddeus Young. As a dark horse contender throughout much of the regular season for the Most Improved Player honors, Young was one of the most valuable parts of the Bulls rotation.

Among the class of 2019 free agent signings for the Bulls made by the former front office pairing of John Paxson and Gar Forman, Young definitely paid off the most in the past two years. The other two, combo guard Tomas Satoransky and center Luke Kornet, have not made the same level of contributions to the Bulls as Young.

Kornet was also dealt by the Bulls to the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline back on March 25 in the deal that brought center Daniel Theis to Chicago.

Young improved his counting stats, shooting percentages, and advanced metrics, nearly across the board this season compared to last. He also ran the screen-and-roll and handoff at the top of the key flawlessly for much of the season. Oftentimes, Donovan would use Young as a primary or tertiary ball handler. Thus Young was able to average a career-high 4.3 assists per game in the season that was.

This was arguably the most productive and efficient season of Young’s career to date. He registered a career-high 3.2 box plus/minus rating (good for top three on the Bulls too), 20.8 player efficiency rating, and 116 offensive rating. The 2020-21 campaign was an offensive season like no other for Young.