Bulls summer recap: Wilson could be special, ignore everything else

Now that it's over, let's grade the Bulls performance in summer league:

Caleb Wilson, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday — A.

Everyone else — if there's nothing nice to say, better to not say anything at all.

Well, that's not completely true. Two-way signee Jaylin Sellers played mostly well, if you ignore his 0-for-9 3-point shooting against the Lakers. And Donovan Atwell, a potential two-way candidate, shot an uncanny 48.5% from 3-point range in Las Vegas (16 for 33). The rookie from Texas Tech didn't do much beside shoot 3s, but that's still helpful.

Wilson was the story, though. He displayed skills no one realized he had — such as shooting 42% from 3-point range — along with bounce, ballhandling and just about everything one could ask for from the No. 4 pick in the draft.

His final numbers were 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 50% shooting overall.

Free throws were the most glaring issue. Wilson shot a miserable 33.3% overall, but after starting 2-for-12, he went 4-for-6 over the last two games. He has too good a stroke to shoot poorly at the line.

One personal challenge has been trying to land on a good NBA comparison to the 6-foot-9 Wilson. The television broadcasters were playing up Kevin Garnett, and KG even showed up to one of Wilson's games last week.

I don't really see it. Garnett is taller, and could be defined as a mobile big who developed a deadly midrange jumper. Wilson probably needs to spend time on the perimeter, because he's not big enough to dominate inside against every opponent. He figure to handle the ball far more than Garnett ever did.

Pascal Siakam maybe, but he was more of a project when he first got to the NBA. He was G-League finals MVP as a rookie, then won the Most Improved Award in his third season. Orlando's Franz Wagner has similar size and skillset, but Wilson is more explosive.

Really, the best comparison for Wilson might be his new Bulls teammate, Matas Buzelis. If nothing else, the Bulls now have an interesting snapshot of their future. Could Wilson and Buzelis develop into a more twinsy version of Boston's now-dismantled championship duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown?

That type of success feels far, far away right now, but at least the Bulls have a blueprint that should make the next few seasons more interesting. Kudos to Bryson Graham for bringing in veteran Norman Powell, who should fit well in this lineup. Sending a bunch of NBA newbies onto the court to figure things out is a terrible idea.

The Bulls' projected starting lineup of Powell, Buzelis, Wilson, Josh Giddey and Nic Claxton should be reasonably competitive, with nice upside. Tre Jones and Jalen Smith figure to be the first players off the bench, then Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller should get playing time.

There's a nine-player rotation without even mentioning Isaac Okoro, Patrick Williams or Zach Collins. That makes any summer disappointment in Noa Essengue or No. 15 draft pick Dailyn Swain mostly irrelevant.

The Bulls wanted Essengue to spend most of his time with Windy City last season, but he was knocked out by shoulder surgery. That plan should resume this year, since Essengue badly needs to add some bulk and figure out how to utilize his unique athletic skills.

The Bulls went out to Las Vegas with a plan of letting Swain show off his versatility by playing point guard, but he wasn't ready for that role and lost confidence early. The rookie from Texas ended up making just 4 of 31 shots from the field (12.9%), but did some other things well. He should also get a chance to refine his game in Hoffman Estates. Unless there are a ton of injuries, the Bulls shouldn't need Swain in a significant role.

The bottom line is you win with superstars in the NBA, and the Bulls might have one in Wilson. No guarantees, but that is good news. Then Buzelis has just as high a ceiling, so that's a start.

Is Giddey the best point guard for this group? Is there enough 3-point shooting? What's the long-term answer at center? Can the Bulls build physicality in the weight room or do they still need to add that piece? Will Wilson or Buzelis ever become all-stars?

Just having a team that could grow into something reasonably special down the road is a positive development for the Bulls. No guarantee they won't mess it up.