Chicago Bulls: 5 best remaining free agents to bolster the bench

Remaining free agents the Chicago Bulls could use to bolster the bench: Frank Ntilikina

A long noted free agent target that is a favorite of mine in connection with the Bulls is the French (although he was officially born in Belgium) former lottery draft pick of the New York Knicks, and point guard Frank Ntilikina. The defensive standout 6-foot-4 and 200-pound guard just turned 23 years old last month.

There’s still a lot of room for growth in the game of “Frankie Smokes”. Just as some of the areas that needed improvement in his game in recent years showed some signs of life with the Knicks in the season that was, his role with the team dramatically dwindled. Ntilikina had never played in less than 900 total minutes in any regular season with the Knicks in four years until this past season.

But the former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau seemingly wasn’t a fan of giving any sort of significant playing time to Ntilikina last season, which is why he had roughly just 320 total minutes played. Given his improved stat line and overall effectiveness on both ends of the floor, that was a pretty surprising number to see dwindle for Frankie Smokes.

The Bulls could get an absolute steal out of the restricted free agent point guard Ntilikina this offseason. He could be signed for roughly a minimum contract value, and provide a real defensive boost for the Bulls’ backcourt unit. And between the combination of the former Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso and Ntilikina, the Bulls could have one of the best defensive backcourt units in the Eastern Conference next season.