Chicago Bulls should pursue restricted free agent Kyle Anderson

If the Chicago Bulls want to go after a small forward in free agency, Kyle Anderson should be atop their list.

LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers? Joined by Paul George or Kawhi Leonard? Scary. But, it would mean LeBron is finally out of the Eastern Conference and the Chicago Bulls won’t have to deal with him come playoff time, unless they were to meet in the Finals..

Wait, playoffs? Sure, it could happen. The Bulls just need to make the right moves over the course of the next couple of summers and I think they’ll be right back in the thick of it — maybe as soon as this coming season. The East is far weaker than the West, so competing for an eighth seed isn’t a crazy thought.

In order to get there, though, the Bulls have to add talent on the wing. Zach LaVine may be back, but at the three spot, the Bulls are a bit thin for talent. Denzel Valentine and Justin Holiday aren’t the future, period. Maybe a couple of role players, at best. But, they’re not starting material.

The Bulls drafted Chandler Hutchison who will likely start out minimally contributing from the bench and could blossom into a solid rotational player. But, who will take the starting spot this coming season? If it’s Holiday again, we can expect mediocrity yet again — and that’s being kind.

The San Antonio Spurs recently tendered Kyle Anderson with his qualifying offer of $4.7 million, making him a restricted free agent. Anderson is just 24 years old and has been coached up by one of the best to ever do it in Gregg Popovich. The former UCLA Bruin is now one of the better young, up-and-coming wing players in the league.

He does a lot of things well, but it’s mainly everything aside from his scoring that I like. He’s become a legitimate defender and has proven to play at his best against elite competition. Take, for example, the Spurs’ 89-75 win over the Golden State Warriors towards the end of the regular season. Anderson didn’t score a single point, but finished with 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and, most importantly, a lockdown defensive performance.

Offensively, he isn’t the quickest player. But, he’s a solid jump shooter and finished last year scoring at a rate of 52.7 percent. From inside the arc, he shot 55.6 percent. Anderson is a decent rebounder at the position and brought in 5.4 per contest last year. He also knows how to create turnovers and finished with an impressive 1.6 steals per game.

Anderson started 67 games for the Spurs last year and only played about 27 minutes per game, but if the Bulls needed him to play a little more, I think he’s more than capable. Anderson seems like he would be a great guy to have in front of Hutchison, because they’re similar players. Anderson has spent a few seasons under some of the best coaching in the world and would most definitely have a lot to offer the rookie.

Next: Bulls: A realistic free agency wish list

Anderson should have plenty of attention this offseason due to his improvement and being so young. If the Bulls aren’t going after the top-tier guys, Anderson should be one of the players atop their list.