Chicago Bulls: 4 players to keep around for long haul
By Ryan Heckman
4. Center Wendell Carter Jr.
As one of the few no. 7 picks on this roster, Wendell Carter Jr. should be viewed as one who isn’t going anywhere. The first two seasons of his career saw some injuries, so the hope is that he’s past those issues going into year three.
He was a bit overshadowed by Marvin Bagley in college, but Carter seemed like the more well-rounded player when it came down to it. Carter has shown spurts of ability to both score and defend, and he’s a strong rebounder.
In his sophomore year, Carter nearly averaged a double-double with 11.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. That was in just over 29 minutes per game. Now, if you stretch his productivity out to a per-36-minute basis, he’s posting 13.9 points and 11.6 boards per contest.
Carter just turned 21 years old, and with the right coaching and system in place, his skills could flourish, making him one of the better young big men in the league. Carter can obviously score inside, and with some added physicality he could be even better on the defensive side.
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If the Bulls stripped their roster completely and built around these four players, the future would be bright. It might take a little while, but after a couple of years, if done right, this rebuild could yield an impressive squad.