The Chicago Bulls walked away from a special defensive duo with Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler paired next to each other. Both players together on the court would be a nightmare for Lebron James, and not many things scare ‘King James’ himself.
Jimmy Butler probably wouldn’t have the same growth if Luol Deng was on the team. Butler was put into a position where he needed to grow as a player in order for the Bulls to move forward due to all the injuries. The stars had to align for the 30th pick to become into a star player, and they aligned just perfectly.
Luol Deng was shipped off to the Cavaliers in a trade early 2014 for a draft pick. It made financial sense at the time since Luol Deng was allegedly declining a three-year $30 million offer from the Bulls. The Bulls didn’t want to overpay the forward and they were already nearing the tax line, so their best option at the time was to trade him. The trade helped free up room for the Bulls to pursue a big free agent like Carmelo Anthony, but they settled for Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic.
It’s time for Tony Snell to step up and be what Jimmy Butler was to Luol Deng. A hard defensive player with the ability to slash and get to the line. Snell has an advantage over the 2013 Butler because of his ability to shoot. Butler came into the league without a jumpshot, foruntely Tony Snell has one.
With an increased role and increased minutes, Tony Snell will have a chance to prove himself as a worthy rotational player. He’ll have a chance to fight for the starting small-forward position, and if he wins it the Bulls could be seeing what they wanted to see out of Butler and Deng.
It’s hard to strike gold twice in the draft, but the Bulls are hoping Snell could be the perfect compliment to Jimmy Butler moving forward.
