Underachieving Chicago Bulls players ready to breakout: Javonte Green
The one player on this list that I wouldn’t necessarily say has underachieved, but was more underutilized in the past couple of seasons, is the former Boston Celtics shooting guard Javonte Green. To say that Green has underachieved would be completely overlooking the fact that he hasn’t really got a sustained chance to make an impact with either the Bulls or Celtics.
Last season, the Bulls made a notable trade deadline deal with the Celtics to land center Daniel Theis and Green. All that the Bulls really had to give up to get Green and Theis was center Luke Kornet.
Although most Bulls fans likely wanted Theis back heading into this season, the Houston Rockets signed him away on a pretty expensive deal, worth nearly $10 million in annual value over the course of four years. Meanwhile, the Bulls got Green back heading into the season on a two-year minimum deal.
This move could bring a lot of value to the table for the Bulls over the course of the next two seasons at least. Green is one of the best on-ball and help defenders in this backcourt unit. He also doesn’t get enough credit for how switchable he is as a defender. Green was a net positive last season defending every position between the one and the three.
If Green can continue to improve his off-ball and catch-and-shoot skills on offense, and maintain his effectiveness as a premier on-ball defender, he’ll be a crucial part of the Bulls bench. He got off to a really solid start in the preseason opener, getting a chance to play with the starting unit. Green registered four blocks, two steals, and 13 points, in a great effort to open up the preseason.
It’s now just a matter of him sustaining that level of effectiveness heading into the regular season.