Every NBA team needs a linchpin — a player who can unlock and elevate its roster. For the Chicago Bulls, that could be Yaxel Lendeborg, the multitalented star at the heart of Michigan's Final Four run.
Lendeborg was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a Consensus First-Team All-American this season, leading the Wolverines to their best campaign in program history. He finished the regular season ranked among the top 20 in the conference in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
The New Jersey native led the best conference in the nation in total win shares, win shares per 40 minutes and box plus/minus — a conference that included Keaton Wagler, who will be a top 10 pick in June, and Purdue legend Braden Smith.
Lendeborg is the catalyst for a Wolverines team two wins away from a national championship. He could play the same role in Chicago and help lead the Bulls back to respectability.
Yaxel Lendeborg's elite versatility makes him a modern NBA linchpin
The Bulls lost their last two games by a combined 59 points. They gave up 145 to the Indiana Pacers, owners of the third-worst record in the NBA. It's fair to say they need anything and everything in this year's draft. And Lendeborg can do just about everything.
The UAB transfer (he won player of the year in his lone season in the Big Ten) averaged 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks. He shot 52.0 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from 3-point range (4.5 attempts per game) and 81.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Lendeborg is a prototypical modern NBA four. He's 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and can dribble, pass and shoot. He's an underrated athlete. He can grab and go in transition. He can guard multiple positions.
He can space the floor and beat defenders off the dribble. He can function as an offensive fulcrum in transition or in the half-court. He's a poised, efficient, unselfish playmaker who has a high-level feel for the game.
The major knock on Lendeborg is that he's 24 years old and may have a limited upside compared to some of this class's top prospects. But considering he spent three seasons at the JUCO level, two in the AAC and then exploded in his one year in the Big Ten, his development arrow may still be pointing up.
How Lendeborg could unlock the Bulls' young core
Lendeborg's do-it-all skill set would give Chicago's foundational pieces a massive boost from day one.
His ability to play the four would move Buzelis to the wing, where he's much more comfortable. He would drag defenders out to the 3-point line and give the Bulls' rising star more space to get to the rim. His versatility to play on the ball or off would give Josh Giddey some extra wiggle room.
He can act as a one-man fast break. He would immediately improve one of the NBA's worst defenses.
Lendeborg may not have the superstar upside of AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. But he's an elite connective piece who makes everyone around him better.
That's a critical role the Bulls need to fill as they rebuild a broken roster.