After the Chicago Bulls traded away their 2011 MVP, Derrick Rose, to the New York Knicks, a lot of love was lost in Chi-Town. It helped when the Bulls signed a two-year deal with Rajon Rondo. It helped when they signed another two-year deal with Dwyane Wade. It helped even more when they took Jimmy Butler off the trading block. Chicago Bulls GM, Gar Forman, did everything in his power to draw in talented players who could be all that Derrick Rose was before his injuries. Unfortunately, Rondo nor Wade are able to fill that hole at this point in their careers. However, there is a new face in the Windy City who is able to replace Derrick Rose: Denzel Valentine.
Denzel Valentine was the AP Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American during his senior season at Michigan State. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.8 assists, and 7.5 rebounds. Valentine is a player capable of doing many things on the court. He can score with ease, facilitate, and rebound. When it comes to three-point shooting, Valentine has shot a better percentage than Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose ever had in any season in their NBA careers. Denzel Valentine shot 44.4% in his senior season on 9 three-point attempts per game. His three point shooting is what stands out about him compared to the Bulls’ retooled backcourt.
Wade and Rondo are both capable of dishing out assists, scoring in bunches, and collecting rebounds, but how they do all of that is different than Denzel Valentine. The two veteran guards have been known in their careers for being ball dominant. Rondo averaged nearly 12 assists per game last season and is averaging close to double digit assists through his entire career, but that is in large part because he holds the ball for so long on offense. Wade has a career usage percentage of 32.0% showing how often the offense ends with him shooting the ball.
Valentine, unlike the two vets, plays within the offense. Obviously in college, coaches make their athletes run more set plays, but Valentine thrives in those situations. He is mobile on and off the ball and can find space to score without the ball just as easily as he can with the ball. His 7.8 assists per game do not take into account the several hockey assists he’s created. And of course, Tom Izzo instilled values of defensive toughness that Wade and Rondo may not have the motivation to produce at this waning point of their careers.
In the Summer League, Valentine averaged 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Although his numbers don’t jump off the screen, he showed confidence at an elite level by knocking down clutch shot after clutch shot. The most notable of the shots came in the final possession of the Las Vegas Summer League Championship game when Valentine drove to the top of the key before spinning around and knocking down a jumper as time expired to take the lead against the Minnesota Timberwolves and claim the title for the Bulls.
Valentine is obviously not the same player Derrick Rose was, but where he lacks athleticism and above the rim finishing, he makes up with his defensive prowess, uncanny nose for rebounding, and his prolific facilitating and shooting abilities. With a Summer League title and game winner under his belt, Valentine is already starting to win the hearts of many Chicago Natives. If Head Coach, Fred Hoiberg, decides to insert Valentine into a bigger role as the 2017 season trudges along, I’d expect Chi-Town to quickly fall in with their new Valentine.
All Stats from NBA.com and basketball-reference.com
