Chicago Bulls: Pre-NBA Draft offseason primer, hype manual
To close things up, let’s chat about the team’s own free agents.
There really isn’t a ton to say about these guys, mainly because none of them are worth crying over spilled milk if they lose them. Well, I’ll cry if they lose one of them in particular:
Robin Lopez: Rolo is the man. I wanted him to get bought out so he could get a chance to play for a contender but the front office wanted him around. And boy did he respond. I would say he enjoyed one of the best offensive stretches of his career, averaging 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 59.9 percent shooting from the floor after the trade deadline.
He got something of a proverbial green light to do as he pleased. I wouldn’t hate having him back to mentor the young guys and for his quirky, yet funny, behavior.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot: “TLC” is expendable. He was acquired to give the Bulls some more of those sweet, sweet cash considerations. He did his job. The French native never quite developed with Philly or OKC, and it showed in Chicago. Even on a roster with awful depth, he just never showed enough splash plays.
Also. Bulls: Pros, cons of drafting De'Andre Hunter. light
Ryan Arcidiacono: As a restricted free agent, there could be some concern with Arch. If the Bulls lose him because some team offers a “poison pill” contract (not likely but not impossible), we riot. There may never be a universe we live in where Arch is a nightly starting point guard in the NBA, but everyone needs a gritty, max-effort, white boy as their third-string point guard. Last year, he showed several times that he belongs in the Association. He knows his role and shouldn’t cost a ton to retain.
Wayne Selden: What a nice little throw-in Selden was in the Justin Holiday deal. A versatile jack-of-all-trades, but a master-of-none. Selden is also an RFA like Arch, but unlike Arch, he has some competition on the roster.
Foot injuries forced Valentine to miss the entire year while Hutchison missed the second half of the year. There may not be many minutes to come by, especially after the draft. There also may not be enough money to go around from a cap space standpoint. Selden’s fate with the team may have already been sealed months ago.