NBA Free Agent Rumors: Nick Young to the Chicago Bulls?
According to ESPN Chicago, the Chicago Bulls have reached out to the Chicago-based agent of free agent and former Washington Wizards guard Nick Young.
As is common knowledge, the Chicago Bulls are in dire need of a shooting guard. Their incumbent shooting guard is Keith Bogans, who averaged only 4.4 points per game on 40 percent shooting during the season. If the Bulls want to be taken seriously as title contenders, they're going to need an improvement.
Young would absolutely be an improvement. Last year for Washington he averaged over 17 points per game on 44 percent shooting and 39 percent from downtown. The advanced numbers also favor Young, as he ranked 18 in the NBA at isolation scoring by stat service Synergy, and 34 in spot up shooting.
Young would be a great player to come in and play for Chicago. He could fill multiple holes in this team. He could be a lead scorer in the second rotation, a spot up shooter to aid Derrick Rose's offense, and a secondary ball-handler to take the pressure off of Rose.
The major concern about Young is his effect on the defense. However, there are many ways to get around that. First of all, the Bulls play a strong brand of team defense to start out with. As long as Young puts forth some sort of effort to play defense, he could earn minutes.
Also, Young could come off the bench in order to minimize the negative effect of his defense, as he would not have to defend the best shooting guards in the league right from the get-go. Overall, the defense is not enough to keep him from this team.
The main issue would be finances. Young is a restricted free agent, and he is worth more to the Washington Wizards than the $5 million mid-level exception that the Bulls have to offer. This would mean that a sign and trade would potentially have to be agreed upon.
However, when it comes down to it, Nick Young is a guy who has the potential to excel in Chicago and really make an impact on this team, so making the move could easily be worth it.
