Chicago Bulls: Could Wilson Chandler Actually Be the Shooting Guard They Need?

The Chicago Bulls should sign Wilson Chandler. It's just an itch in the back of my mind that won't go away, no matter how much I think about sandpaper. When it comes up, I try to quash it, but then it just won't go away. 

So maybe it's the prolonged offseason, I don't know. It's evident that the only way to deal with this notion is to actually consider it, out loud, or at least in writing.

Could Wilson Chandler really be a good fit for the Chicago Bulls? Now, here's my general take on what the Bulls need in a shooting guard. They need a guard who can shoot and guard. Hence the name of the position.

Currently they have the "shooting" in Kyle Korver and the "guarding" in Ronnie Brewer, and in Keith Bogans they have a guy that can shoot better than Brewer and guard better than Korver, but doesn't do either exceptionally well.

The other thing you want is a guy who can move with the ball and create his own shot to take some of pressure off of Derrick Rose. 

Enter Wilson Chadler. My general notion of him was that while he's pretty good at moving with the ball and creating his own shot, and was more than adept at getting into the paint, he wasn't much at shooting or defense.

Last year, though, he grew as a player and started to show his ability to do both. First, his shooting really got much better, particularly from deep. He went from .267 from behind the arc to .350. That's a nice bump. 

With the Knicks last season, 66 percent of his shots were assisted, which is a nice mix. That indicates that he is more than capable of creating his own shot. The next best shot creator on the Bulls last year—after Rose—was Luol Deng, who had 70 percent of his shots assisted. 

And Keith Bogans? He had 94 percent of his shots assisted. Now, if you want to know what that means in real numbers, try this on for size. It means that Keith Bogans made four unassisted baskets all year!!!

Egads!!! No wonder we need a shooting guard! That's right, Bogans scored eight unassisted points on the season. 

So you can see why getting a shooting guard who can take the ball to the rim would be a nice asset. 

Offensively, Chandler has what the Bulls need. Is there still need for improvement in areas? Yes. Sometimes he takes ill-advised shots. He can be streaky. The other thing is he could get to the line more often. His FGA/FTA ratio is only .17 compared to the league average of .30. 

Still, considering what the Bulls have there, it's a huge upgrade. And the fact is that Chandler is only 24 and has shown consistent improvement in his career. It's not like he's hit his peak or is past his prime. Still relatively young, Chandler averaged nearly 17 points per 36 minutes last year and could still get better.

So offensively he could be the answer, but defensively I've had my doubts. With the Knicks last year he gave up a field goal percentage of 44.7 percent. However, when he went to Denver there was a vast improvement, cutting that number down to 40.1 percent. 

There are, in my mind, four aspects to defense: physical attributes, skills, effort and team. Attributes are things like height, speed etc. They are a limitation you can't do anything about. For instance, Kyle Korver will never be quick enough to be a good defensive player, no matter how hard he tries. He may have gotten better through effort, but that can only take you so far. 

At 6'8" and 220, Chandler actually has very good size for a shooting guard. Some feel he'd be better suited at the three, but he has shown he can play the two. He has the physical ability to be a good defender.

His combination of size and speed would fit well in Thibodeau's system, where the emphasis on perimeter defense is forcing and challenging jump shots. Chandler is a tough man to shoot over for most shooting guards. 

Those things were there in New York, but the other three things—effort, skills and team defense—weren't emphasized, so it wasn't seen. When he went to Denver, they had a renewed commitment to defense. Chandler responded to that commitment and there was a vast improvement. 

His points per play against dropped .06 points, an enormous difference. In fact, he showed tremendous improvement across the board, giving up fewer points per play against every single kind of offense. 

Some of that is being on a team that's putting the effort forth, but he was a part of that team putting the effort forth. His offensive numbers dipped, but the improvement in defense shows that that was in large part due to effort. He tried, he improved and the numbers show it. 

And remember, a good chunk of those defensive games were guarding Kevin Durant. 

Sometimes people talk about defense and effort and they only think about what happens on the court. A big part of defensive effort, though, is what happens in practice, especially in a system like Thibdeau's. 

Now the one argument you can make against him is that he could struggle against smaller, quicker shooting guards, like Monta Ellis. However, in the Bulls system, with Luol Deng and Derrick Rose both being great defenders, it could be accommodated where Rose or Deng could assume the responsibilities. 

Chandler's adjustment in Denver speaks well of an adjustment in Chicago. His physical attributes speak well of the ceiling for those adjustments.  

It's a real possibility that wherever they end up playing, out of all the guys who are mentioned regularly in the "how about" talks coming out of Chi Town, Chandler will have better numbers than any of them, OJ Mayo and Courtney Lee included.

Physically he's just as gifted, if not more than any of the other youngsters. His per 36 minutes or per minute stats are at least on par with any of them. He has more starting experience than either of them. He's younger than Lee and only six months older than Mayo.

Finally, he could come cheaper than anyone, both per year and in terms of players. The Bulls only need to extend him an offer, whereas they would need to work out a trade for the others. While the Nuggets have extended a qualifying offer to both him and Aron Afflalo, it's unlikely they would match offers on both. The Bulls could just take whichever one the Nuggets didn't want (which would be Chandler, as they have already said they will match any offer on Afflalo). 

You can make an argument that not only is Chandler the best option without regard to cost, he's also the most cost effective solution. That's a nice combination. He could be the player to put Chicago over the top and at such a young age, be with the young nucleus of Rose, Noah and Deng for years to come.