Despite growing pains, Bulls still counting on Mirotic, McDermott
As last season began, the Bulls were counting on a couple young scorers, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott, to play important roles and complement their veteran teammates.
But it didn't quite work out that way.
Both players were inconsistent shooters who struggled defensively. Their lack of development was a factor in the Bulls missing the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
That doesn't necessarily mean the Bulls should scrap this experiment. The question is whether Mirotic and McDermott can pay dividends next season or if they'll continue to exhibit growing pains.
McDermott is probably easier to explain. He should be a valuable asset in this higher-scoring NBA era because has such an impressive set of scoring skills. McDermott ranked sixth in the league in 3-point percentage at .425 (tied with Golden State's Klay Thompson). He's also got a nice floater, can knock down quick midrange jumpers and had enough athleticism to go on a midseason dunking spree.
The former Creighton star didn't play much as a rookie, so this was basically his first pro season. He averaged 11.4 points after the all-star break, with excellent shooting percentages. So with a good summer of work, McDermott should be ready to shine next season.
He spent two weeks with Jimmy Butler in San Diego last summer. Now that he'll presumably get to skip summer league, maybe McDermott should consider moving into Butler's summer digs.
Mirotic is a little more complicated. He's been hit and miss during both seasons since joining the Bulls from Real Madrid. The 6-foot-10 forward looked like a future all-star when he averaged 20.8 points in March of his rookie season. But he quickly faded and never matched that production during his sophomore campaign.
When he was on, Mirotic could be very good. The Bulls went 24-14 in games he started, which is dramatic enough to think he must have been doing something right.
What's tough to understand is how Mirotic has lapses in common sense at times, becoming prone to bad shots and turnovers. It was also strange how he could shoot 29.8 percent from 3-point range in November, then 46.9 percent in April.
Coach Fred Hoiberg pushed Mirotic to keep things simple. Shoot the 3-pointer when he's open, don't try to dribble into traffic if the shot isn't there.
Another confusing point to Mirotic is how his game changed. As a rookie, he often scored near the basket and used his impressive speed to get out on the break. He hardly did any of that last season. As a rookie, 50.1 percent of Mirotic's shot attempts came from 3-point range. This year, 56.8 percent of his shots were from behind the arc.
On top of that, both players struggled defensively. There's probably hope for McDermott. He's a guy who was never asked to focus on playing tough man-to-man defense until reaching the NBA, and now he has to guard some of the world's best athletes. McDermott seems to be fast enough to get it done, but clearly needs more practice.
Mirotic, on the other hands, often seems to have no defensive instincts, other than get out of the way, like he did during a LeBron James fast-break dunk late in the season.
The solution might be simple: Just limit the defensive liabilities. If Mirotic starts, bring McDermott off the bench and vice-versa. Obviously, it's easier to cover for one bad defender than for two.
It might be tempting to trade one of the younger players, and rookie Bobby Portis could be thrown into that group. All three players have nice potential, but too many young guys learning the ropes is not conducive to winning.
The Bulls need to figure out if Mirotic, McDermott and Portis will be ready next season to help win games. If not, a trade might be smart.
They already seemed to lose the gamble on Tony Snell's development. Snell had a few good games, but nothing to suggest he's ready to become a valuable NBA contributor. Snell is under contract for $2.37 million next season, though.
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