The Bulls have brought in a former Simeon-star to help jump-start a rebuild. Oh, and he has knee problems. Take a drink if you’ve heard that one before…
On July 14, Jabari Parker decided to sign a two-year, $40M deal with his home team, with the second year being a team-option.
It has already been reported that the Bulls plan on using Jabari as a SF (though in a position-less transitioning game, that may not mean much), so Chicago have themselves a very young projected starting lineup:
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PG: Kris Dunn – 24 yrs old
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SG: Zach LaVine – 23 yrs old
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SF: Jabari Parker – 23 yrs old
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PF: Lauri Markkanen – 21 yrs old
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C: Wendell Carter Jr. – 19 yrs old
With LeBron leaving the East, the throne is now empty and is awaiting its rightful ruler to take the seat (yes, I’m having Game of Thrones withdrawals). While the Celtics and Sixers are the obvious projected teams to snag the torch, the rest of the East is wide open. Lots of fans are concerned with the Bulls being able to sneak into a seven or eight seed come April. Then it begs the question: could the Bulls be stuck in the middle, A.K.A. “Basketball Hell,” where they were before trading Jimmy Butler?
Quick answer is yes, they could be.
Don’t confuse this team sneaking into the playoffs with the one Jimmy led, though. The starting lineup mentioned above has an average age of 22 years old. The Jimmy-Bulls? 30 years old. Say what you want about injury history, to go from 30 to 22 in a span of two years is impressive. While the risk of it all blowing up in our face is certainly present, the potential to recharge a dull organization with good young talent is as well.
Who knows, this could be our ticket to bringing a big-name free agent to Chicago within the next two years.
This also puts head coach Fred Hoiberg in a position to do what many says he does best; get young guys to buy into his system. Fred will have a chance to put his stamp on how he wants his team to run, along with continuing to develop each player’s skill-set. A task Hoiberg will seemingly take in stride.
While I don’t foresee it happening, this squad making the playoffs would mean further development of a young team that could use the experience. It could very well mean that the future of the Bulls organization is bright, and only needs a superstar in the near future to push past the point of contention.
The reactions of Bulls fans around the country seem to be split on the addition, with the anti-Jabari side’s two concerns being:
1.) How does he exactly fit into the Bulls roster, as he may be more of a modern-PF than a SF?
2.) Can he stay healthy coming off two knee injuries?
The answer to those questions is something we’ll have to just wait and see, but the Bulls did a nice job in protecting themselves with essentially a one-year, low-risk, potentially high-reward “prove it” deal. With Parker only 23 years old, we still don’t know what he looks like at his best. His best statistical season came in 2016-17 when he averaged 20.1 PTS, 6 REB, and shot 49% from the field (36.5% from 3) but missed 30 games. If Jabari can post anything close to this stat-line while playing at least three-quarters of the season, I’d say the signing was worth it, and it gives the Bulls a shot at having the next best young core in the league.
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