Kevin Huerter changed Chicago's lineup for the better when he arrived in the Zach LaVine trade shortly before February's deadline. Once he entered the starting lineup, the Bulls morphed into one of the best teams in the league. And believe it or not, that isn't an exaggeration.
Considering the amount of time it took Chicago's front office to finally move LaVine, the return of Zach Collins, Tre Jones and Huerter was a disappointment. Collins is a career backup; at the time, Jones seemed like nothing more than a $9 million expiring contract; and Huerter was playing the worst basketball of his NBA career.
Fast forward a few months, and boy, have things changed. Jones became a standout staple in head coach Billy Donovan's rotation. Collins even had a brief stretch where he was the Bulls' best big man. But neither of them had the impact Huerter did, and it wouldn't be a stunner if he's crucial to what Chicago does in 2025-26.
Kevin Huerter had an underrated impact on the Chicago Bulls
Huerter was having a wildly disappointing season with the Sacramento Kings before he came to the Windy City. In 43 games (15 starts), the 26-year-old was scoring only 7.9 points per game in nearly 21 minutes a night. He was shooting 41.9 percent from the field and a career-worst 30.2 percent from three-point range.
Known for his shooting ability at 6-foot-7, that dramatic dip in accuracy was concerning for someone who had knocked in 37.5 percent of his career triples. Given Huerter's $17.9 million expiring salary heading into 2025-26, the thinking seemed to be that, at the very least, letting him walk would clear a significant chunk of cap room for Chicago.
But whether it was a change in scenery, teammates, offensive system or coaching -- or all of those at once -- Huerter flipped his season around dramatically, and the Bulls went with him.
Huerter was at the heart of Chicago's best lineups in 2024-25
Among NBA groups that played at least 120 minutes over the year's final 15 games -- including the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves starters -- Chicago's lineup of Josh Giddey, Coby White, Huerter, Matas Buzelis and Nikola Vucevic led the league in pace and was third in offensive rating (124.0), effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage.
That group scored 122.9 points per 100 possessions and shot 54.1 percent from the field. Despite Huerter's late arrival, that five-man lineup finished the season fifth in total minutes played for Chicago.
The five of Giddey, White, Huerter, Vucevic and Patrick Williams was even better. They scored 138.6 points per 100 possessions, were a plus-26.3, shot 56.1 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from deep (on more than 35 attempts). Those numbers all led the team.
Lineups that featured Huerter and Giddey together had the best offensive rating
(125.8) of any Bulls lot that appeared in at least 20 games. Those groups were third in net rating (17.6) and tops in effective field goal percentage (62.6) and true shooting percentage (65.3).
Huerter joined Donovan's starting lineup for good on March 13 and played in 15 of the Bulls' final 17 games. Chicago was 12-3 in the 15 games Huerter played -- he missed two contests, both losses.
The seven-year veteran averaged 14.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and shot 49.2 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three on 6.9 attempts per game, which led the team during that stretch. He led the Bulls in minutes per game over that span as well.
It's not unreasonable to think Huerter could have a similar effect this season; his numbers over those last 17 games aren't far off from those he posted during his first season with the Kings in 2022-23. If that's the case, the Red Mamba could push the Bulls one step closer to the playoffs -- or become a valuable trade chip, which could end up being even more valuable.