Chicago Bulls: Is it time to end the Jabari Parker experiment?

It may be early, but should the Chicago Bulls end the Jabari Parker experiment already?

The Chicago Bulls are only 12 games into the season, but at 3-9, one thing is abundantly clear. This team is really bad. Yes, I know they are missing three critical pieces with Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and Bobby Portis all out with injuries. However, that doesn’t change the reality of who they are at the moment.

The lone bright spot to the season has been Zach LaVine, who is proving all the preseason doubters (including yours truly) wrong. My biggest concern with giving LaVine the contract the Bulls did was what a liability he was on the defensive end. While still not considered a shutdown defender, his effort and commitment on that end of the floor have improved dramatically.

Contrast that with Jabari Parker, whom the Bulls also signed to a pretty hefty offseason deal — though they have a team option for the second year of his contract. Parker’s return to his hometown was much anticipated by fans. His offensive prowess was never in doubt, and so much was expected from him on that end of the floor. No one had any misconceptions that Parker would be a contributor on the defensive end, as he once famously stated: “players don’t get paid to play defense.”

Maybe that’s true, but team’s pay players to produce, something Parker really hasn’t done this season. On a team with only one other viable offensive option, Parker is only averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds per game. With his complete lack of effort and awareness of the defensive end, it almost feels like he is giving up twice that many points. His Defensive Rating (estimate of the number of points allowed per 100 possessions) is 114 and his defensive +/- is -1.2.

That would be bad if he was making up for it on the offensive end, but his offensive +/- is -3.6, bringing his total +/- to -4.8. So what exactly is it that Parker brings to the table? The answer is unclear, other than perhaps giving the Bulls the best chance of tanking for one of the Baby Blue Devils. If that’s the plan, great. Fans can get behind it.

But couldn’t they equally accomplish that goal by giving some of Parker’s minutes to Chandler Hutchison and allow him to develop this season? Fred Hoiberg would have to tinker with the rotations, but it’s definitely doable. Not only would it give him invaluable experience going forward, but it would allow the Bulls to see what they have in him.

Look, unless he miraculously turns his play around, the odds are slim that the Bulls will bring back Parker next season. So doesn’t it make sense for the Bulls to evaluate a player they think could be a part of their long-term plans? I mean, could things really get any worse?