The Chicago Bulls‘ future is murky, to say the least. At the end of this past season, Arturas Karnisovas stated his lack of desire for a rebuild, but a recent rumor from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports indicated that the Bulls have reached out to opposing teams, assessing the overall interest in a potential Zach LaVine trade.
Regardless of the direction Chicago chooses to move in, their roster needs persist, and the greatest of all is their desperate need for point guard help. Lonzo Ball is set to miss the entirety of next season, and without him, they need to add help at the point guard spot.
Sam Smith of NBA.com recently conducted a mailbag, and one reader wrote in suggesting the idea of Carlik Jones, not as a starter, but at least as a backup. And while Smith made it clear that Chicago needs a better option in the starting spot, he was on board with the idea of giving Jones a chance.
“I’ve previously mentioned Carlik as a possibility because he does play like a true point guard and has a nice shot,” Smith wrote. “The Bulls need a higher level starter at point guard, but I’d like to see Carlik get a fair shot as a backup based on production and not favoritism.”
Jones went undrafted a couple of seasons ago, bouncing around NBA teams before landing with the Bulls this past year. He hasn’t played a ton in the NBA, but what he lacks in experience in the big leagues, he’s made up for with experience in the G League.
Not only has be played a ton of minutes in the G League, but he’s been awesome. This past G League season, Jones averaged 26.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game on 48.0 percent shooting from the field and 35.5 percent shooting from deep on 5.9 three-point attempts per contest. He won G League MVP for the Windy City Bulls.
As noted, Jones isn’t a valid starting option, but with his skillset and Chicago’s lack of a true point guard, the Bulls should absolutely give him more opportunities next season.
