"He's the hero Gotham deserves. But not the one it needs right now."
That quote, courtesy of Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) in The Dark Knight, couldn't be more on point for Chicago Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson. Like Batman saves Gotham, Wilson may one day save the Bulls. But not right now.
It's admirable that he's putting the weight of the organization on his shoulders — but it's not a burden he can, or should, carry as a 20-year-old rookie six games into his NBA career.
Caleb Wilson has been everything Bulls fans have hoped for
It was a little shaky out of the gate, but Wilson has proved he already belongs in the Rookie of the Year conversation. There are flashes of superstar upside interspersed with reminders that the No. 4 pick in last year's draft is incredibly raw.
After scoring 16 points on 7-for-21 shooting (1-for-8 from three) and committing nine turnovers in his NBA debut against the Toronto Raptors, Wilson, two nights later, shot 50 percent from the field (7-for-14) and scored 21 points in the Bulls' only win to date, a 132-125 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks.
In the four games since, he's averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks. He scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 24 and hit six 3-pointers in an Oct. 30 loss to the Boston Celtics.
No matter how well the former North Carolina star plays, though, his team is piling up losses. That's not an unexpected development for Chicago this season; still, it's not an easy pill for Wilson to swallow. But it's not his responsibility to fix it alone.
Wilson wants to fix the Bulls — it's admirable but impossible right now
"I’m 20, and I’ve never been a loser in my whole life, so I’m going to try my best to make sure that doesn’t happen," Wilson said after the team's pre-Halloween loss to the Celtics, via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
All good. That's what you love to hear from a franchise star. But he also said this (and he's said similar things on a few different occasions) to CHSN's K.C. Johnson:
"It’s my job to be a leader on this team. It’s probably the majority my fault we started the way we did, whether I’m a young player or not. I’ll take ownership of that and it won’t happen again."
Yes, Caleb, you should be a leader. But there are other players around you who should share the burden.
Matas Buzelis was the franchise star until this summer. The two are arguably co-franchise stars, actually. And Buzelis has played two additional seasons and 157 more NBA games.
Norman Powell is in his 12th season and made an All-Star team last year. Josh Giddey, as bad as he's been so far, just started his sixth professional campaign. Buddy Hield is 34. Tre Jones is 27.
No one can expect Wilson to fix an organization by himself. Especially this one. He'll surely learn that. But the Bulls should be glad he wants to try.
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