Chicago Bulls: 5 potential replacements for Kris Dunn

Trae Young, Oklahoma

One of the hotter names for the Bulls has become point guard Trae Young out of Oklahoma. I know a lot of Bulls fans who are longing to see Young in Chicago, and it just might happen if this Dunn situation works out to be factual.

Young is one of the more intriguing players in the draft. For starters, he shot only 42.2 percent from the field overall last year, including just over 36 percent from 3-point range. When you see the fact that he averaged 27.4 points per game, and shot at that rate, it’s somewhat alarming.

Taking over 19 shots per game, Young dominated the offense for Oklahoma. He was a player who had to touch the ball early and often in that offense. But, here’s the thing: He had to.

Oklahoma was not a good team in 2017-2018. They had no shot at a Conference Title; zero shot at a National Championship. Young was just doing what he had to do to win games.

Here’s the other incredible stat: Young posted 8.7 assists per game on that below-average team last year. Obviously he had to take a lot of shots, but the fact that some are wanting their favorite team to steer clear because of this “ball hog” mentality is absolutely ludicrous. Young is far from a ball hog — the numbers don’t lie.

Next: 5 underrated prospects at pick no. 22

Young can score. He can get teammates involved. The kid just wants to win ball games, and last year he had absolutely no help. He was doing it on his own. Put him in a system with a shooter like Lauri Markkanen and other offensive playmakers like Zach LaVine and Bobby Portis, and you’ve got a much different stat line.