Chicago Bulls: Denzel Valentine primed for bigger playmaking role in 2017

Expect Denzel Valentine to play a more substantial role as a playmaker during his sophomore season with the Chicago Bulls.

Denzel Valentine had an up-and-down rookie season with the Chicago Bulls. Literally. After being a Summer League star, the Bulls’ 2016 first-round pick averaged only 5.1 points in 17.1 minutes per game, battling growing pains (and ankle pain). He struggled to crack Fred Hoiberg’s rotation and when he did play, he primarily acted as a floor-spacing shooter rather than a dynamic playmaker. But based on recent talks with Bulls’ brass, Valentine may have the ball in his hands much more next season.

During exit interviews, management reportedly told Valentine to expect a bigger role next year, which should excite Bulls fans. It definitely excites the rising sophomore Bull, who hopes that whatever he does next year plays more to his strengths. Here’s what he had to say about the upcoming season, via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

"“In the future what I do best is playmaking and getting people involved. And then obviously I can do other things as far as shooting and scoring ability. It was sort of confusing with me just standing over in the corner sometimes just shooting.”"

Valentine the Point Guard?

What Valentine’s expanded role will entail remains unclear. He could obviously get more minutes behind Dwyane Wade at shooting guard, should he return. That scenario makes a lot of sense as there are currently no options there other than Wade and Anthony Morrow on the roster.

However, if you ask Valentine what he expects, and wants, to do, his mind is set on being a point guard. From Johnson’s article:

"“This summer, I’m going to work on guarding point guards every day. If I can play the point some more, we can be more versatile and I can be more versatile on the floor.”"

He has a point (pun slightly intended), and the Bulls just might be about to give him a shot to prove it. Coming out of Michigan State, evaluators billed Valentine as a high-IQ player with stellar court vision and passing abilities. Though he didn’t display this much for the Chicago Bulls early on, he did get a chance to run the Windy City Bulls offense when he played there. The results:

In his three D-league games, he averaged 7.3 assists along with 28.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Interestingly, more so than scoring and rebounding, his assist numbers were very close to his college averages (7.8 per game). Evidently, the goal was to see if Valentine could realistically run an offense at a higher level than college. The next step may be to find out if he can do it in the big leagues consistently. More plays like this will do nicely:

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Who’s his competition?

To be clear, this isn’t to say that Valentine would start going into next year. There’s still a good chance the Bulls pick up Rajon Rondo’s team option after his strong finish to the 2016 season. Plus, there’s always the chance that the Bulls opt to select a point guard in the upcoming NBA draft. After all, what about those fun rumors about the Bulls trading Jimmy Butler for the Boston Celtics’ #1 pick and taking Markelle Fultz?

However, with questions surrounding the Bulls’ point guard position going forward, Valentine deserves consideration. With Rondo turning 32 next February, he may not get a second contract in Chicago. And whether he returns to Chicago or not, no one behind him played well enough to demand the job. Jerian Grant, Michael-Carter Williams, and Isaiah Canaan don’t fit Hoiberg’s high-paced scheme particularly well, which was glaringly obvious when Rondo succumbed to injury in the playoffs against Boston. And Cameron Payne, though he’s still young, was simply bad.

Also, any rookie the Bulls draft, except perhaps Fultz, Lonzo Ball or De’Aaron Fox (if he fell), likely wouldn’t be an immediately better option than Valentine at point guard. He may not have much NBA experience, but a year in an NBA system counts for something. And with the Bulls desperately needing frontcourt athleticism, can they really afford to take a point guard unless it’s one of those three? Probably not.

Next: Which point guards interest the Chicago Bulls in the NBA draft?

However the Bulls address their guard spots in the offseason, Valentine will get chances to show his skills next year. If he can aggressively push the action offensively while limiting turnovers, he’ll start earning Hoiberg’s trust. And the ball will keep finding its way into his hands.

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