The Chicago Bulls find themselves in a familiar place: limbo.
Although they have made moves that point towards a rebuild, they have yet to full commit, as both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are still on the roster, leaving them just enough talent to potentially miss out on next year’s top-10 protected pick.
Chicago may yet find new homes for LaVine and Vucevic, but given the Bulls’ history, it wouldn’t be surprising if they went into next season trying to chase the play-in instead of lottery odds with those two players still on the roster.
That makes their approach to the rest of the offseason unclear as the LaVine and Vucevic trades loom over it like a dark cloud.
Will the Bulls try to add free agents? Will they look for developmental talent or cheap veterans who fill needs? If it’s the latter, the Bulls should look for a shooter as they were just 20th in 3-point percentage last season and 26th in 3-pointers made per game, a problem that didn’t get any better when they traded away Alex Caruso.
If the Bulls go bargain shopping for a shooter, here are three they could target.
Gordon Hayward
Hayward is in the latter stages of his career, so if he takes a minimum deal, it will likely be to play with a contender, not to join a pseudo rebuild that just signed and drafted young players at his position.
But Hayward is a 37 percent 3-point shooter for his career and would be the perfect mentor for Matas Buzelis, whose game resembles Hayward’s in his youth.
Hayward played 51 games last season and shot 41 percent from long range and you can’t count on him to play much more than that. He wouldn’t stunt the development of the young forwards and would give the Bulls a consistent shooting threat.
That being said, I’d bet he ends up on a team like the Nuggets.
Doug McDermott
McDermott is another player who is well past his prime, but the Bulls aren’t looking for stars here, they are looking for guys who can plug holes on lowball, short-term deals.
McDermott may have lost a step or two, but he can still shoot, knocking down over 41 percent of his 3-point shots last season in 64 games.
He’s not going to help the Bulls’ defense, which is already likely to be atrocious, but he can at least provide space and is a guy who can get you buckets off the bench.
We are seeing the effects of the second apron that guys like Hayward and McDermott haven’t been scooped up by contenders, many of whom are hampered by possible penalties that make it harder to sign older veterans.
Luke Kennard
If the game of basketball were only about shooting, Kennard would be a perennial All-NBA selection, as he shoots it as well as anyone.
He’s led the NBA in 3-point percentage twice and shot 45 percent last season on over six attempts per game for Memphis.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that he can’t do anything else, as Kennard is a complete traffic cone on defense and gets hurt a lot.
But when you have guys like Zach LaVine (pending), Coby White and Matas Buzelis who can create off the bounce, having elite shooting is a must and Kennard is an elite shooter.
It’s possible he’ll get more than a minimum deal, as he is still in the peak of his career, but he’s a guy the Bulls could use at the right price, as his shooting complements their young core.