Chicago Bulls: Let Javonte Green go to work from the corners

As we continue to look ahead for the Chicago Bulls less than two months from the start of the highly anticipated 2021-22 regular season, there are still some questions to be answered. For one, we need to know what the bench will look like for head coach Billy Donovan just over one month from the start of Training Camp.

There are some key bench pieces returning for Donovan and the Bulls next season, but multiple roster spots lie open at this point of the offseason. One key player to watch that is coming back in a reserve role heading into next season is the former Boston Celtics shooting guard Javonte Green.

A key acquisition in the trade deadline day deal with the Celtics that also brought big man Daniel Theis to Chicago, Green was brought back on a two-year deal by the front office this summer. Meanwhile, the Bulls let Theis sign with the Houston Rockets on a four-year deal worth around a total of $36 million.

Moreover, Green should be able to contribute a lot of defensive value at the two-guard/on the wing for the Bulls next season. He’s one of the more underrated wing defenders in the Central Division. And the capability that the Bulls now have in this spot of the rotation on defense is dramatically improved compared to the 2020 preseason.

The Bulls now have a trio including Green, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball, that will all contribute in a meaningful way defensively.

Chicago Bulls made a good move bringing back Javonte Green on a two-year deal

But a question mark does remain for the Bulls in terms of what offensive contributions the rotation can get out of Green. We do know that Green posted around the same counting stats offensively with the Celtics pre-deadline as he did with the Bulls post-deadline.

The main difference was that Green shot much better from beyond the arc with the Bulls compared to the Celtics. He did drop his overall field goal shooting percentage from 54.9 in Boston to 45.2 in Chicago.

Yet, Green improved his three-point shooting percentage from 31.8 with Boston to 37.5 with Chicago. It was also impressive that Green hit on every single one of his 10 attempts from the free-throw line last season.

There’s real evidence that the Bulls found something with Green as a shooter. Between his time with the Celtics and Bulls last season, Green registered a solid 61.0 true shooting percentage. Pair that with a solid bit of improvement in the past two seasons in his free-throw attempt rate, and you get a pretty good weapon that Donovan and the Bulls could have in Green as a shooter next season.

Where Green really did well in shooting from beyond the arc last season came from the corners. Especially from the corners, Green was a lights-out shooter from deep last season. He shot 50 percent on corner three-pointers last season with the Bulls.

And it wasn’t just with the Bulls that Green excelled in shooting from beyond the arc. Green shot 43.3 percent on corner three-pointers between his time with the Bulls and Celtics last season. His 36.4 three-point shooting percentage from the corners during his first season with the Celtics was also something worth noting.

The spot that Green really likes is from the right corner. According to NBA advanced stats, in games that were tracked last season, Green shot 62.5 percent on attempts from the right corner downtown.

Compare that to 33.3 percent from the left corner, and just under 20 percent on three-pointers from above the break, and you can see which spot Green is efficient from.

Every single one of the tracked three-point shots that Green made last season was assisted. He’s not adept to creating his own looks from downtown, but his ability in transition and in the settled halfcourt offense to be a threat from this spot is noteworthy.

Since Green is almost exclusively a catch-and-shoot threat, the Bulls could turn him into more of a three-and-D type two-guard/wing next season. That could be a nice way for the Bulls to utilize one of the most underrated defenders in the league today.

You can’t overlook the improvement in three-point shooting percentage and defensive box plus/minus that Green had with the Bulls down the stretch last season. He registered a career-best 3.2 defensive box plus/minus with the Bulls in the 16 games he played with the team post-deadline.

For some perspective on that, the best defensive box plus/minus in the league last season was the New York Knicks big man Nerlens Noel, at 3.5.

Green is certainly going to be a capable two-way shooting guard/wing for the Bulls next season if he keeps improving his efficiency the way he did last season. He’s a true threat as a wing defender and in shooting from the corners.

The Bulls are hoping to improve in a big way upon the 31-41 record the team posted last season in the first year under Donovan. The first chance to do that will come in the regular season opener, on the road against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 20.