Chicago Bulls: 4 players who exceeded expectations in 2020-21

Chicago Bulls players who exceeded expectations in 20-21: Daniel Gafford

The lone player on this list that is a former Bull, but still had an underrated run with the team while he was still around in the Windy City, is the current Washington Wizards big man Daniel Gafford. This former Arkansas Razorbacks big man was a gem find for the former front office pairing of John Paxson and Gar Forman in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft (38th overall).

But Gafford was one of the main pieces of the young core that was shipped off at the trade deadline back on March 25. He was sent to the nation’s capital as part of the deal that also saw third-year small forward Chandler Hutchison join the Wizards. In return, the Bulls got Mo Wagner and Troy Brown Jr., only one of which stuck with the team.

Gafford was also solid for the Wizards following that trade nearly two months ago.

But during his time with the Bulls in the regular season that was, Gafford averaged 4.7 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks. He rounded out his 31 games played in a Bulls uniform during the regular season with one of the better box plus/minus ratings and player efficiency ratings on the team.

Gafford registered a 0.5 box plus/minus rating in his time with the Bulls during the 2020-21 campaign, and an 18.8 player efficiency rating. That’s not to mention his sparkling 128 offensive rating and 107 defensive rating during his time with the Bulls.