With the Chicago Bulls season over, a number of players may have played their final game for the franchise. Denzel Valentine is one of those players as his contract is set to expire. His future with the team is to be determined, and his play this past season could push the franchise in a certain direction.
Valentine displayed his offensive skillset on multiple occasions over the course of the season. That isn’t much of a surprise, as he has done the same thing in recent years. His fourth year, though, was all about showing some level of consistency that he has lacked.
The consistency was simply not there. The result was the lowest-scoring season since his rookie campaign at just 6.5 points per game. Valentine is a streaky shooter, and when he is on it’s easy to see why he should be a good shooter more often than not.
Unfortunately, the streakiness of his shot resulted in a career-low three-point percentage this year of 33.1 percent. He isn’t one to lock in defensively so his offensive contributions are vital to seeing the court.
He was an all-around offensive threat entering the league, which resulted in the Bulls taking him 14th overall over a number of very good players. This year he was essentially a three-point specialist that was far too streaky.
Not all was bad from Denzel in what was a disappointing season for the Michigan State product. His good moments did play a role in a number of wins over the course of the year and he is certainly an NBA-level player.
Still, he seemingly doesn’t pull off from his offensive aggressiveness when he isn’t doing well offensively, and that cost the team in a number of games this season. Will the Bulls bring him back? It seems pretty unlikely but is not impossible.
There doesn’t seem to be any reasonable way they offer him anything for multiple seasons. More likely than not he could use a change of scenery and the Bulls could use a different type of player to fill his spot in the rotation.
All in all, Valentine disappointed in his fourth NBA season despite expectations being fairly low. He couldn’t establish himself in the rotation and wasn’t an impact player when he was getting good run.
Denzel Valentine Season Grade: D+
Denzel Valentine had enough moments in the year that an F wasn’t warranted, but he didn’t do much better at a D+. His game offers flexibility in lineups and pairings on the court so not all was bad all the time. Additionally, his ability as a playmaker flashed enough to help the Bulls occasionally.