bulls guard denzel valentine releases debut album

Bulls guard denzel valentine releases debut album full#

He's eligible to sign an extension next summer, but it would be foolish to commit to a long-term deal after this surgery. The Bulls already picked up Valentine's $3.38 million team option for 2019-20, so he's locked into a fourth season. His skill set could make up for it, but there are legitimate questions moving forward. He's already limited athletically, and if he loses another step that could be problematic. Still, the injury history is troublesome, and who knows how Valentine will recover from this significant setback. His loss also robs second unit of floor spacer and playmaker. 14 pick in that draft, and they value what he brings to the table:ĭenzel Valentine seems to be panned by some outside the organization but can say he’s very valued within it for his leadership and work ethic. The Bulls selected Valentine with the No. This all after his right knee was red-flagged heading into the 2016 NBA Draft because of a surgery from way back in 2009. He underwent surgery on this same ankle after his rookie year, then needed arthroscopic surgery on his left knee toward the end of last season. While this injury is bad enough on its own, making it worse is the fact that it's his third surgery in three seasons. Chicago's putrid point guard situation also would've been mitigated slightly with Valentine's presence.īut now Valentine faces a long recovery and potentially a questionable future in Chicago. His shooting and playmaking are valuable, especially on a Bulls team lacking creators. The 25-year-old put up 10.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 27.2 minutes per game while shooting nearly 39% on 3-pointers. Valentine is a flawed player due to his lack of athleticism and poor defense, but he established himself as at least a useful guard off the bench in his second season. Rookie Chandler Hutchison is still raw and seemingly not ready for a bigger role, while shooting guard Antonio Blakeney is playing a sizable role as a microwave scorer off the bench after being a bit player last season. Justin Holiday is at nearly 35 minutes per game, by far the most of his career.

Bulls guard denzel valentine releases debut album full#

Zach LaVine is sixth in the league in minutes per game in his first full season back from an ACL tear and taking on a huge usage load. His foot-speed isn't going to increase overnight, but with a slightly better effort at that end, Valentine could work his way towards starter status sooner than many think.The Bulls don't exactly have a lot of quality depth on the wing, making Valentine's absence loom even larger. The front office will also want him to show at least minimal improvement on defense, which should be possible with the Bulls' new switch-heavy system hopefully keeping him more engaged on that end. The Bulls are woefully thin at small forward, and with Chandler Hutchison clearly not NBA-ready and Jabari Parker playing out of position, Valentine-who played 94 percent of his minutes at SF last season-will be depended on to provide steady offense.He was a 38.6 percent 3-point shooter last season, and averaged 4.2 assists per 36 minutes, and impressive number for a wing player such a low usage rate.

The injury is supposed to keep him out for 1-2 weeks, and Chicago certainly could use his shooting on the floor, seeing as Lauri Markkanen is out for an extended period with his right elbow injury. With the summer fully behind him, Valentine is focusing on rehabbing his left ankle, which he tweaked in a practice. Denzel Valentine on his Drew League experience I didn’t really care that much about it, but it kind of made me realize who I am and every time I step on the court, no matter where I am, whether it’s the park or I’m in this building, it’s for real.

Valentine didn't back away from answering questions about Frank 'Nitty' Session's 44-point explosion. In a story released on Friday afternoon, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times talked to Valentine about his summer experience. Over the summer, Denzel Valentine played in the well-know Drew League Pro-AM circuit, getting torched in one of the more memorable performances in the league's history.