2016-'17 Chicago Bulls: The Bench

The faces this upcoming season will look a lot different than they did last year.

So in my first article (click the link at the end of this article to read), I gave my predictions/descriptions of the Chicago Bulls' potential starting lineup once the NBA begins. But now it is time to dive deeper into the roster and take a look at the Bulls' bench as it is now. {NOTE: these players are in no particular order of best to worst.}

- Jerian Grant: Guard #98

In all honesty, I was hoping that the Bulls would have somehow taken Jerian Grant in the 2015 NBA Draft. If only he would've fallen just three more sports down and we could have drafted him. However, then we would not have been able to grab a stud like Bobby Portis. So I guess everything turned out okay in the end.

Just like Portis, Grant does not have much to go off of in order to make an evaluation of what his career will be like. But just like Portis, that means that his ceiling could go as high as he wants it to go as well. In his rookie season with the New York Knicks, Grant only averaged 5.6 PPG, 2.3 APG, 1.9 RPG, & 0.7 SPG. However, based upon his play during the summer league with the Chicago Bulls, Grant showed that he still has a unique set of skills on that 6'4" point guard frame while also showing his awareness and intelligence on the court.

Just like Portis, Grant is young and still seems that he is trying to grow into his own as an NBA player. And I can understand that, but for both of these men, it would be a lot more helpful and have more of an impact if they could grow fast into their own in order to help contribute more to the team. Also, great has a bit of an obstacle in his way right now that will prevent him from playing a ton of minutes called Rajon Rondo. However, this is Grant can then start to make a push for more playing time if Rondo follows my prediction and sticks to passing the ball, stealing it, and cutting off the pass lanes.

Overall: Jerian Grant is a young gun that could be the future starting point guard for the Bulls in the next couple of years. With a little help from Rondo about how to defend and dish out the assists & some classes by Prof. Wade about how to get that ball into the net by any means necessary, Grant could turn into a wonderful blessing and help to prove that Rose was never really needed after all.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 6.3
Assists/Game- 4.2
Rebounds/Game- 1.9
Steals/Game- 1.2
Turnovers/Game- 1.4
Field Goal%- .421
3 Pt. %- .285


- Denzel Valentine: Guard/Forward #45

Denzel Valentine was one of my favorite college basketball players last year. Not because of any kind of awards or status, but because he showed me something that I had not seen in a Michigan State game since I decided to watch old Michigan State basketball highlights from the 1970s with this guy that could do almost anything... like it was almost "Magic" or something (Yes, I did say that and I feel proud of it!). But all kidding aside, I will forever be grateful for the day that we were able to draft Valentine.

The positives with this kid are all over the board if you look at it. The big plus side for me is that Valentine stayed in school and honed his craft for all four years under Spartans' head coach Tom Izzo. Now there is criticism about him being "too old" compared to most other draft picks. But for me, I would rather have the kid that has stayed in school for three or four years in order to grow as a player and student then go with a kid that showed one year of decent to pretty good talent but may not be ready mentally and/or physically for the NBA. Again though, this is just my own opinion. Who knows how good guys like Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram could be as one-and-done players.

Along side with his maturity and intelligence on the court, Valentine is someone who I describe as being a "swiss army" player, which is just another way to say that he has all-around talent. In his last two seasons at Michigan State, Valentine averaged 16.9 PPG, 6.1 APG,  & 6.9 RPG all while having a 45.3% field goal and shooting 43.0% from three-point range. Along with what we were able to to see during the summer league games, Denzel Valentine should have no problem translating his game over to the NBA. Plus his versatility and size (6'6" 210 lbs.) allows him to be able to play the point, shooting guard, and small forward.

The only things that I will note for Valentine that have me somewhat concerned about him is that he needs to still work on making his defense solid and his history of injuries that includes having problems with his knees. Just thinking that scares me to think that he could end up having a career like Derrick Rose.

Overall: Denzel Valentine will see a significant amount of playing time coming off the bench and will more than likely start when they need to rest Dwyane Wade or if he gets injured. And with the tutoring of both Wade and Rondo, Valentine should be able to become pair up with Jimmy Butler as quite the dynamic duo.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 14.6
Assists/Game- 4.3
Rebounds/Game- 5.2
Steals/Game- 1.0
Turnovers/Game- 2.2
Field Goal%- .413
3 Pt. %- .394

- Taj Gibson: Forward #22

It's fair to say that everyone in the city of Chicago has some kind of respect for Taj Gibson and what he brought to the team when we drafted him out of USC seven years ago. Gibson came into the NBA at 24 years old and brought both the maturity and raw toughness that the Bulls were in need of at the time. Even still, I look at him as the emotional leader on this team. Whether it's true or not, he has that personality that comes off as the guy that will make sure everyone in the locker room is in the zone and ready to play as hard and tough as possible.

But despite all that he has brought to the team through emotional empowerment to one of his most infamous moments in his career when he dunked on his current teammate Dwyane Wade in the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, back when Wade was apart of the Miami Heat's Big Three with LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Gibson has struggled to give us a reason to label him as a "star" on this team. While his ability to play well on defense is what makes him usually stand out, he has struggled to show an ability to be an all-around forward in the NBA. In his seven years, Gibson has only averaged double digits throughout a whole season twice, has only manage one season (his rookie one) with an average of 7+ rebounds per game, and has a free throw percentage of .692 for his career average. In seven years with Chicago, Gibson's career stats are 9.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG, & 0.5 SPG.

Once again, I due respect Gibson for what he brought to this team and what he still brings to this team in some way, shape, and from. Unfortunately, with the arrival of promising young players like Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic who both possess the skills to play well on both offense and defense consistently, Gibson's playing days in Chicago I think are limited unless he can prove that he is still work keeping around the organization.

Overall: While I do enjoy the idea of keeping Gibson for his veteran voice and leadership as someone that does not shy away from contact and being physical, I think that Gibson will eventually find himself getting traded out of Chicago along with a couple others in order to make more room in their salary cap.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 8.7
Assists/Game- 0.4
Rebounds/Game- 6.6
Steals/Game- 0.4
Turnovers/Game- 1.5
Field Goal%- .473
3 Pt. %- .000

- Nikola Mirotic: Forward #44

As of now, It has been really hard for me to read just how good Nikola Mirotic is and can be over time. From the moment that it was announced that the Bulls had acquired his draft rights, I was really excited because of all these amazing things that I had heard about him while playing overseas in Europe with Real Madrid (the basketball team). During his time over in Spain, Mirotic led the team in scoring almost always, showed a knack to being able to get rebounds, and even demonstrated that he has the ability to play defense at both the perimeter and in the post. But remember, this was what i saw when he was playing in Europe.

Now that Mirotic has been able to get two NBA seasons under his belt, it's a little bit easier to try and take something away from his game at the NBA level. The top quality I have liked about Mirotic is his offensive awareness. If the ball is in his hands, he often looks as though he making a quick analysis of the defense and his own team before either passing it out to the next open man, trying to drive the ball inside with the use of his athleticism, or tries to find mismatches on the outer perimeter to take a nice three-point shot. So far, his career stats over his first two years read as 10.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 0.7 BPG, & 0.8 SPG, which even shows that he has been working pretty well on defense when playing out in the perimeter to get steals and contesting shots in order to protect the post.

But Mirotic is not without his own faults. He still struggles to play "all out" aggressive like we have seen him do from time to time. He has moments where he seems to relax and settle for being a bit more passive, which for this Bulls team, is not something that I would recommend making a habit. The other crutch of his game is that he is still learning the NBA way. While the choice to allow him to play about three years in Spain with Real Madrid after we had acquired his draft rights seems to have paid off so far by his growth on and off the court, he is still on the learning curve as far as how to he will fit into the team whilst playing on more of the NBA's level. But so far, I will say that his progression from his first season to the end of last season shows that he is learning and growing in it.

Overall: Look to Nikola Mirotic to play a pivotal role on the team throughout the season with major contributions to the offense in being their necessary "stretch four" that can really help to open up the game for them while progressively getting better defensively. It'll come slowly, but he will progress and get better.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 12.4
Assists/Game- 3.5
Rebounds/Game- 6.3
Steals/Game- 1.1
Turnovers/Game- 2.3
Field Goal%- .420
3 Pt. %- .333

- Cristiano Felicio: Forward/ Center #6

When I heard that this kid was apart of our squad, I didn't think that much of him. That is until I saw him in action and really started to understand exactly what he could bring to our squad. Although there are a few question marks that are still around him and just how he will handle the actual regular season, I think it is fair to say that we have another good option to go with at center if something were to happen to Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis does start at power forward.

While standing at 6'10" & weighing 275 lbs., Felicio's size looks to be his best advantage over the competition. His height is at just the right point where he can go up and grab rebound on both offense and defense. His weight means that he will be a very difficult one to move when in the middle, be a hard screener,, and also helps his aggressive inside game on both offense & defense as well. And speaking of aggression, Felicio's aggressive style is exactly what the Bulls have been needing to bring back for quite some time. Plus, he is also just 24 years old and still has room to grow even more in the league.

As for his downfalls, Felicio's age can also be a concern because he still is learning the game and time will tell if he can really handle the intensity of the regular season. Another concern is also with his weight, with many experts saying that he has managed to stay at his current weight for most of his career. So that does say that he has been able to manage his weight well. But the concern is more with what happens if he lets it go and it gets way too out of control. There have been many big men that have come into the league with high expectations, only to see their careers get covered in sauce and swallowed up. Look at the careers of Thomas Hamilton, who played in the NBA at almost 400 lbs. in his short career. Then there is the biggest scare I could think of in Eddy Curry, who was selected by the Bulls at No.4 in the 2001 NBA Draft straight out of high school. And although Curry was able to have a long and decent career playing basketball, his size was often noted for limiting his potential to grow farther as a player in the NBA.

Overall: While Cristiano Felicio will more than likely come off the bench for the team at the start of the season. He will probably start out coming on for about 8 minutes per game. By the end of the season, assuming his game has grown, he should be capping out at possibly 20 minutes per game.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 7.7
Rebounds/Game- 7.9
Steals/Game- 0.3
Turnovers/Game- 0.5
Field Goal%- .487
3 Pt. %- .000

{Click here to read: "2016-'17 Chicago Bulls: Starting Five"}
{Part 3 coming soon}

2016-'17 Chicago Bulls: Starting Five

While the NFL season is about to come under way, the city of Chicago has so many questions blowing around it's professional sports teams that it is hard to settle on just complaining, I mean discussing, how the Bears will fair this upcoming season (That's for another time soon). For now, I wanted to put the focus on the Chicago Bulls and what possibilities may potentially lay in wait for us on this roster. (NOTE: these are only my predictions and in no order of importance.)


- Rajon Rondo: Guard #9

The first thing that needs to be understood is that this may not be the same Rajon Rondo that helped the '07-'08 Boston Celtics clinch an NBA championship. Although I will say, Rondo's career numbers of 11.0 PPG, 8.7 APG, 4.8 RPG, & 1.8 SPG have held strong throughout the years in Boston, being traded to the Dallas Mavericks, and then playing with the Sacramento Kings last season. So stat-wise, there is possible hope that Rondo retains that form that he has had for the last 10 years.

Another thing that must be understood is that Rondo has earned himself a reputation as a "complicated" player or "coach killer" as some analysts have described him. Over his 10-year career, Rondo has found a way to get under the skin of legendary coaches Doc Rivers (Celtics), Rick Carlisle (Mavericks), and George Karl (Kings). Even before then, Rondo had apparently butt heads with his former head coach at Kentucky University, Tubby Smith. Considering all that, what would he do with a very passive, fairly young, and still new head coach Fred Hoiberg? My guess would be somewhere between screaming at him on the court & shoving him over the bench or worse.

Overall: While it will depend on Fred Hoiberg's game plan for the squad, Rajon Rondo's role on the team will more than likely be as the starting point guard with his main objective to dish out assists to the open man and have his defensive presence bring a tougher persona/feeling to the team.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 9.7
Assists/Game- 10.6
Rebounds/Game- 5.9
Steals/Game- 1.8
Turnovers/Game- 2.6
Field Goal%- .443
3 Pt. %- .333

- Dwyane Wade: Guard #3

Even at 34 years old, there is something about Flash that can still drive him to compete at the highest peak possible. With Dwyane Wade coming back home to Chicago to live out a dream now come true, there is great hope that he will translate his leadership and elite ability to play to the rest of the roster in order to bring the Bulls back into playoff contention. Maybe even make a run at securing another NBA title. Now the chances of that happening seem small so far because the season has not started yet, but there is always an opening in the window for that to happen.

Wade's been able to produce strong numbers in his 13-year Hall of Fame career with 23.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 5.8 RPG, & 1.7 SPG. But despite having strong career numbers, there are some that have expressed concern over how Wade may be able to fit into Hoiberg's system which showed that he likes his shooting guards to be able to hit the three from long range (but who doesn't). Although I'm sure Wade could find some way to adjust his game, his .284 career three-point percentage is not a very promising statistic. The other issue that Wade has is that he IS 34 years old, and with just a two-year deal with the Bulls, these maybe the last of Dwyane Wade's productive starting years before either coming off the bench or retiring.

Overall: Although his age and style of play may not fit the system, Wade's role on this team will most likely be as Jimmy Butler's sidekick in scoring while being a teacher/mentor with Rajon Rondo to younger guards like Jerian Grant and Denzel Valentine to groom them for the future.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 18.6
Assists/Game- 5.4
Rebounds/Game- 4.1
Steals/Game- 1.2
Turnovers/Game- 2.4
Field Goal%- .476
3 Pt. %- .292

- Jimmy Butler: Guard/Forward #21

When Dwyane Wade says that this Chicago Bulls' team is "Jimmy Butler's team", I feel that he is not just talking about this coming season. In fact, ever since Butler has begun to emerge as a rising star for the Bulls, I've continued to and still stand by my claim that Butler was Chicago's premiere franchise player over hometown hero and nostalgia choice Derrick Rose. My reason for saying so: Rose's two ACL injuries hindered any forward progress in his career on both a physical and mental level [but that is just my opinion on that]. But it seems clear that the bulk of our success will lay on how Jimmy Butler works both on and off the court.

Although I consider Butler to be the Bulls' franchise player, I can understand where people would come from when they say that his stats do not reflect that of a franchise player with 13.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, & 1.4 SPG in five years. However, in those five years here in Chicago, three out of the five have seen him score in double digits (13.1 PPG in 2013, 20.0 PPG in 2014, and 20.9 in 2015) which has helped to make him into a more complete baller when combined with his outstanding defense. And while it's has only been the last two seasons that have taken him to the next level as the team's star/franchise player, he's shown he's got the fire inside to try be the best he can possibly be in the NBA. The only concern that would be here is whether or not he has the ability to carry this momentum going forward and even higher to eventually get this team to The Dance.

The only other concerns that could be found with Jimmy Butler are two things: Injuries and loyalty/leadership. Okay, so that is technically three things. The concern of injuries for Butler is that ever since becoming a starter in 2013, he has not played a whole 82-game season. By doing some simple math with the number of games he has played and started over the last three years, it comes out that Butler is averaging about 66 games over the last three years. Now it's not a major, "Oh no! He's done for!", issue, but it is one that should be understood by the fans. 

The other parts of Butler that could be a problem are both his leadership and loyalty to the team. Now in terms of loyalty, I mean toward Hoiberg and all of the front office and not the team (just yet). After last year's fiasco in which Butler seemingly called out Hoiberg as having a very weak way of approaching the game, it's very hard to look at him and believe that, even with all these new additions, that he will still buy into Hoiberg's style of coaching. It'll be even worse if it comes from both Butler and Rondo. And then the issue of leadership is just trying to feel out and see if Butler is ready to be "the man" & "go-to guy" for this organization both on and off the court.

Overall: While Jimmy Butler has shown us that he can play at an elite level like a franchise player should, much of his success this coming season will come down to whether or not he will buy into Hoiberg's system and how he will be played in it with his other star teammates.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 21.4
Assists/Game- 3.3
Rebounds/Game- 6.4
Steals/Game- 1.4
Turnovers/Game- 1.4
Field Goal%- .438
3 Pt. %- .363

- Bobby Portis: Forward #5

I have to say that this was a hard choice to make because of the numerous options you have to go with at power forward. From my eyes alone, i would say that the Bulls have about four options at this position with Portis, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson, and Cristiano Felicio. But I decided that Portis would be the guy that would be on the floor at the start of the season. My choice came from his performance in the summer league games combined with what he has showcased to Chicago whenever he's stepped on the court. But to be fair, these are all just predictions of mine. For all I know, Hoiberg could still decide on putting Mirotic or Gibson in at the position (Felicio as backup center).

So here's the thing when it comes to making a call on Portis: there is not that much to go off of as far as NBA competition. But that is also a benefit for him as well because it means that his ceiling could be who knows how high. During his rookie season last year, Portis averaged 17.8 minutes per game and was able to to average 7.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, & 0.4 BPG. Now with all that being said about how many points, rebounds, and blocks he has in almost 18 minutes on the court, we can then predict what his stats may be if he is allowed to play more time. So in the case that he is made a full-time starter with 30+ minutes per game, we could then multiply his 17.8 minutes by 2 to get 35.6 minutes per game. That means that Portis would then be averaging 14.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, & 0.8 BPG. But again, that is all based on that is his stats from his first season.

The only concern I've seen with Bobby Portis has been how to play him. ports has shown that at 6'11", he has the ability to take the ball down the court if need be and utilize his multi-range of shooting to knock down shots. But then does that mean that Portis will be strictly power forward or will he also see some time at center potentially? I wouldn't put it against Hoiberg to make him the big man down low and see what he can do. And the other issue that could come is what is wrong with most people in their early 20s which is that he is still growing into his own and trying to find what works for him best in his work environment.

Overall: As good as Taj Gibson has been for the Bulls over his career on both offense and defense, It seems to me that Bobby Portis i the future starting power forward of this team with Nikola Mirotic coming off the bench or possibly splitting the time (depending on how they both improve).

Predicted Stats: (based on assumption that he plays 24-25 min.)
Points/Game- 10.2
Assists/Game- 1.1
Rebounds/Game- 8.5
Steals/Game- 0.4
Turnovers/Game- 1.2
Field Goal%- .469
3 Pt. %- .310

- Robin Lopez: Center #97

Just like I had difficulty figuring out who would be the starter at power forward, it was just as difficult to make a decision at center. Yes, Robin Lopez is the only one on the roster that is "technically" a center big man. But I also decided to factor in his backup, (more than likely), the young and strong Brazilian Cristiano Felicio. Although Felicio is only 6'10" and weighs in at 275 lbs., I have to say that his "go hard" mentality and ability makes him a viable option here. But I chose Lopez because he is a true seven-foot tall big man and I think Hoiberg will throw him in there for the size aspect of it.

First things first, shut up about how Robin Lopez is a junk journeyman player that is not worth anything. yes, I did think that Lopez, Calderon, and Grant traded for Rose was a bit like for how good Rose has been in the past. But we have to remember that we are giving them a broken Rose that barely has enough left in him in my opinion. Plus in return, we got a big man who knows his defense and a young guard in Jerian Grant to start grooming for the future. But enough of that; back to Lopez.

Lopez does have questions marks on him in the form of, "How healthy will he be all season long?" It's a decent question to ask when you consider that he missed quite a few games in the early stage of his career. However, the last four seasons have seen Lopez play and start in all 82 games of the season three times (2012-'13, 2015). During those three seasons, Lopez was also able to score in double digits as well, but that has not been enough to bring his averages up across the board. However, all fans should be aware that Robin Lopez is not the prolific scorer like Pau Gasol was or the rebounding machine that Joakim Noah was with the Bulls. And the fans must also remember that Robin is NOT his brother, Brook Lopez.

Overall: While Robin Lopez would not be my first choice after what I saw Felicio could do around the basket while down low in the post, I would bet that we see him start at center and taking most of the minutes for time before they allow Cristiano Felicio to come in and try his hand at playing more minutes.

Predicted Stats:
Points/Game- 8.6
Assists/Game- 3.2
Rebounds/Game- 8.5
Steals/Game- 0.6
Turnovers/Game- 2.3
Field Goal%- .516
3 Pt. %- .000

{Click here to read: "2016-'17 Chicago Bulls: The Bench"}