The Bulls will certainly have a position battle in fall camp in early October.
This isn’t the type of mistake that general managers and coaches want to float out there in hopes of motivating an obvious starter, but a true day-to-day battle at point guard.
Except for Patrick Beverley, a move that could prove costly due to the toughness he brings. In is Chicago’s own Jevon Carter.
But in the red corner, fighting for North Carolina, Coby White.
Touch hands and come out swinging.
Beverley’s addition wasn’t the only thing that helped the Bulls go 14-9 after the trade deadline. Look at White’s numbers during that stretch.
His assists went from 2.0 per game to 4.5 over the last 23 games. His score went from 8.8 to 11.6 per game, and his three-point shooting from 35.3% to 41.3%.
The eye test is even better.
White played more physical offensively and defensively and showed that swagger that made him the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
So how much are the Bulls worth in White’s development?
The proof is in the checkbook.
It’s easy for an organization to say how much it appreciates a player’s progress, but White was paid for it. Faced with the prospect of White exploring the open market, the Bulls made the combo guard a high priority when free agency opened, signing him to a three-year, $33 million deal with incentives. .
That carries some weight.
So is the experience.
Carter is four years older than White but also has 22 playoff games on his résumé. He is coming off a season where he played in 81 games for the Bucks, shooting 42.1% from three-point range as well as leading the defense.
But his most interesting attribute?
He is from Chicago.
Hailing from Proviso East, Carter was signed by the Bulls to not only help out in the backcourt but become the latest Chicago-born player to bring the city’s cooking to the roster.
“Obviously, Jevon, local kid, he wears a different pride on his chest being from Chicago,” Bulls general manager Marc Eversley told NBC Sports last week. “Looking forward to seeing him. wearing that jersey right there at the United Center.
“He brings toughness, tenacity, he brings a competitive spirit to our group that we felt we needed to address, and we did that. Not to mention he’s a 40% three-point shooter , and we talked a lot about increasing the shooting. He checked all the boxes for us.”
Well, not all boxes.
Of the 305 NBA games Carter has played, he’s started just 48. He doesn’t have the playmaking skills that were ignited last season by White, who seemed to really build a relationship with big man Nikola Vucevic in the pick-and- roll and pick-and-pop.
Advantage: White.
But who starts at point guard isn’t as interesting as who closes.
Finishing off opponents was not a forte last season. Again, many of those failures happened because the Bulls didn’t have a true point guard.
With Lonzo Ball’s knee injury, coach Billy Donovan often went to a point guard by committee, putting the ball in the hands of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan and letting them dictate sets.
If White or Carter can disrupt the defense with Alex Caruso also running the offense, that could go a long way in establishing a closing core.
Much will be said in camp, and a real positional battle will begin.