Will Denzel Valentine be a big piece of Chicago Bulls' rebuild?
As his second season in the NBA begins, the Bulls are still waiting for a definition of 2016 first-round draft pick Denzel Valentine.
Is he going to blossom into a key piece of the Bulls' rebuild or does he lack the athleticism to be a top-line NBA player? Will he display the all-around skills that made him a star at Michigan State or continue to struggle when trying to make plays?
Nothing much was settled during his rookie season, other than Valentine showed he can be an effective 3-point shooter. From mid-February to early April, a stretch of 23 games, Valentine shot 40 percent from long range on 5.2 attempts per contest.
Valentine assessed his rookie performance on Friday at the Advocate Center.
"I think it was up and down, really inconsistent," he said. "That's what was going on with my health too. Coming in, being hurt (sprained ankle), getting back healthy, then getting hurt again, it kind of affected my playing. My biggest thing this year is can I stay healthy all year? With that, I think I'll be able to get confident as the year goes on."
The opportunity is there for Valentine and the pressure is not. Landing a high draft pick in 2018 is an important part of the Bulls' plan, so it's a chance for everyone on the team to focus on improvement.
"If I just do what I need to do and play, everything's going to fall into place," he said. "If I try to prove to everybody that I'm supposed to be the franchise player, that's when stuff goes wrong. I'm just going to believe in the work that I put in and let whatever happens happen."
Coach Fred Hoiberg's advice to Valentine and most of the young Bulls is to slow down and don't try to pull off anything spectacular.
Last year, the 6-6 swingman seemed to have trouble adjusting to the speed of the NBA game. There were times he'd try to drive and dish, only to have his pass picked off.
"The thing I've been really pleased with Denzel is he's really bought into making simple plays right now," Hoiberg said. "I thought at times he over-penetrated last year and just with the difference in size and athleticism at this level, sometimes you can't get away with the things you did in college."
So where exactly Valentine fits remains to be seen.
When the regular season begins, it will likely be between Valentine and Paul Zipser to start at small forward, though that could change when Zach LaVine comes back from a knee injury.
Zipser, a second-round pick, received playing time in last season's playoffs ahead of Valentine, so it's still a toss up for the starting role.
Hoiberg said picking lineups will be mostly about figuring out two sets of players that work well together.
He's trying to encourage competition during training camp, so he wouldn't say Valentine has any sort of inside track as a former first-round pick.
"Everything's so wide open right now," Hoiberg said. "We've been putting in some late-game situations and trying to figure out who's going to be a guy to get the ball to late in the game. Last year we knew that was going to be Jimmy (Butler). This year, it's about figuring out who that guy is going to be."