The Chicago Bulls franchise is in need of a major overhaul if they want to compete anytime soon.
After making the 2017 NBA Playoffs, the Bulls will pick 16th in the upcoming NBA Draft in June. That’s not ideal for a team that needs to rebuild and do it around star player Jimmy Butler.
It’s not impossible to find an impact player at No. 16 but in a draft loaded with lottery talent, the Bulls missed their chance to be in the top 10 and a shot at one of those players.
Chicago has a lot of needs to fill on the team and really needs to find a scorer to compliment Butler. The Bulls were 24th in the NBA shooting 34 percent from behind the three-point line. They traded their best three-point shooter, Doug McDermott, to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline.
Adding a sharpshooter from outside is critical for the Bulls. Enter UNC’s Justin Jackson.
The wing tested the NBA Draft system in 2016 before returning to Chapel Hill and helping lead the Tar Heels to their sixth national championship.
In his junior year, Jackson made great strides to improve his overall game. Most notably, Jackson improved his three-point shooting percentage from 29 percent to 37 percent in 2016-17. He set a new single-season record for three-pointers made at UNC en-route to winning the ACC Player of the Year award.
But does Jackson make sense for the Bulls? The prospect spoke on that possibility at the NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago:
“It’d be an honor whoever drafts me, so if that’s here then that would be great,” Jackson said via the Herald Sun. “I will try my best to be the best I possibly can. Wherever it might be, that’s where I’m going to try to leave my mark and be as good as I possibly can.”
The Bulls really need a player that can score the ball and take a little pressure off of Butler. Jackson spoke on what he can bring to the table:
“I can shoot the ball pretty well, which helps with spacing,” Jackson said. Defensively, I can do a few things and so you kind of add both of those into it. At the end of the day, the Bulls are a great organization already but if I’m blessed to be drafted by them or whoever it might be, I can add a few things to it.”
Jackson is currently projected to go mid-first round at the 2017 NBA Draft which will be held in Brooklyn, New York on June 22.
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