Who the Chicago Bulls should’ve signed instead of Stanley Johnson: James Ennis III
In terms of finding someone who could’ve been a better signing among small forwards in free agency at this point of the offseason, compared to Johnson, it’s hard to look past the former Orlando Magic veteran wing/forward James Ennis III. Johnson is neither as consistent nor as efficient, as someone like the 31-year-old Ventura, CA, native Ennis.
The 6-foot-6 and 215-pound Ennis was an excellent two-way reserve wing for the Magic last season. He averaged 8.5 points per game, four rebounds, and 1.5 assists, last season while shooting 47 percent from the field, 43 percent from beyond the arc, and 81 percent from the free-throw line.
While Ennis is certainly not the best defender out there, he was recently around a net neutral on that end of the floor. And he is a net positive on the floor overall for his career in terms of his on/off-court numbers. Ennis was definitely a huge net positive in his on/off-court numbers for the Magic last season as better than a +7.
What Ennis does best, though, is post up from beyond the arc and knock down shots from three at a high volume. He registered a sparkling 61.3 true shooting percentage last season. He shot roughly eight percent better than the league average from beyond the arc, with a three-point attempt rate at .438. Those are excellent numbers that would likely also translate in the Donovan-led offensive scheme.