Ranking the 13 Worst Bulls starters of the Derrick Rose era

12. John Salmons (2009-10)

In Rose’s first few seasons with the Bulls, his supporting cast included a revolving door of experienced veterans looking to break out in a bigger role on a rebuilding roster. Perhaps no player better represents that trope than John Salmons, who was acquired at the trade deadline in 2009 in exchange for beloved former Bull Andres Nocioni.

Despite averaging 18.3 points on 47.2% shooting in the previous season, Salmons posted a paltry 12.7 points on 42% shooting in 2009-10. This led to Salmons being traded once again a year later on the exact same date to the Bucks, where he (of course) returned to averaging 19 points on 46.7% shooting. Fortunately, Salmons’ career would take a nosedive after the 2010-11 season, so Chicago didn’t miss out on much here — other than witnessing the rest of Nocioni’s career, of course.

These two veterans yielded much better results with other teams than they did with the Bulls.

11. Marco Bellinelli (2012-13)

Although the Bulls were an elite defensive team with a true superstar running the show on offense in the early 2010s, it was no secret that they had one clear weakness in their lack of shooting on the roster. The front office tried to address this issue over the years, and some of their additions were rather effective, such as Kyle Korver and Doug McDermott.

Others were… not quite so competent. That includes Marco Bellinelli, the Italian star who signed with the Bulls as a free agent in 2012. Unfortunately, he’d post the lowest points per game and shooting percentages of any year he played from 2010 to 2014, and would be released after just one season. Of course, he’d go on to win a championship with the Spurs just one year later, just to add insult to injury.