After making a mid-season deal for Nikola Vucevic, the Chicago Bulls signaled to fans and players alike that roster reconstruction was underway.
With a number of pending free agents, there are more players expected to end up with new teams than brought back to the Windy City for the 2021-2022 campaign.
As they work to put together a contending product on the United Center floor, hard decisions will have to be made.
But regarding former 14th overall pick Denzel Valentine, it’s clear a return to the Bulls is all but off the table.
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Looking for a Change of Scenery
In his latest for Bleacher Report, 10 NBA Free Agents Who Need a Change of Scenery, Zach Buckley made the case for 10 free agents who, whether they’ve struggled or not on their current teams, would be better off elsewhere.
The last of which mentioned was Denzel Valentine, who after four years with the Chicago Bulls, is likely headed elsewhere this offseason as an unrestricted free agent:
He averaged just 16.7 minutes and 6.7 shots this season, and those were improvements over the previous one. To be fair, he hasn’t done a ton to warrant more. He has a 10.7 career player efficiency rating; the metric’s league-average mark is 15. Maybe this is just who he will be in the NBA, but he should want a shot somewhere other than Chicago to find out.
As Buckley notes, Valentine was once considered d promising member of the Bulls’ rebuild, after they drafted him with the 14th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
But after averaging 10.2 points over 77 games (and 37 starts) in 2017-2018, he suffered a left knee injury that sidelined him for the 2018-2019 season and derailed his Chicago tenure.
Since returning to the floor, he’s played in just 98 of 137 possible games, and averaged 15 minutes per game.
So yes, at age 27, the best move for Denzel Valentine is likely to find his way onto a contending roster, where hopefully his passing acumen and scoring ability could potentially shine in a second unit.
Insider Predicts his Departure
Within hours of Buckley’s post being published over at Bleacher Report, Chicago Bulls insider K.C. Johnson published his official predictions (via NBC Sports) for each of the team’s free agents.
His position on Denzel Valentine’s future is that it lies elsewhere:
He didn’t shoot great from 3-point range but does possess the ability to heat up in a hurry and enjoys playing in pressure situations. He’s also an adept passer. But the roster needs two-way players and his confidence leads to recklessness sometimes. He’ll be a rotation player somewhere next season.
He couldn’t be more accurate when calling the fourth-year wing’s confidence as the predicate to reckless play.
Fans no doubt remember Valentine’s bizarre three-point shot that sealed a Bulls’ loss to the Miami Heat in April:
“Nooo nooo nooo.”
Still thinking about this shot by Denzel Valentine last night 😅
The cringeworthy highlight serves as a proper summary of Denzel Valentine’s Chicago Bulls career.
He finished this season averaging 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
Even if those numbers don’t look any different next season, you can bet his uniform will.
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Analyst Suggests ‘Change of Scenery’ for Bulls’ Lottery Pick