Chicago Bulls: 4 risky free agents worth the gamble

Free agents worth the gamble for the Chicago Bulls: Reggie Jackson

Deeper down the list of point guard free agent targets for the Bulls this offseason should be the Los Angeles Clippers playoff breakthrough scorer Reggie Jackson. The 6-foot-2 and 210-pound 31-year-old Jackson had one of the best runs of his career during the regular season and playoffs with the Clippers throughout the 2020-21 campaign.

Few guards were as surprisingly productive for any team in the playoffs as Jackson was for the Clippers. He averaged a career-best 17.8 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks, during the postseason with the Clippers. And he shot 48.4 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Why signing Jackson would be such a big risk to Karnisovas and the Bulls is the fact that he might return to his usual ways as more of a sixth man than a true starting-caliber point guard. The price tag won’t be as high this summer in free agency as other point guards that were as productive as him during the regular season and playoffs.

But that is largely due to the fact that Jackson has a career track record of being a questionable starting point guard. He wasn’t terrible as the Detroit Pistons starting point guard from 2015-2019, but he was rarely a net positive player in terms of his advanced metrics. Maybe his role with the Clippers helped him find a permanent turnaround, though.

All in all, Jackson should be considered to fill the Bulls’ point guard need before Dennis Schroder of the Los Angeles Lakers. Jackson would be a cheaper option that was also more productive throughout his career than Schroder.