Is Luol Deng a Worthy Starter?
October 21st, 2009 by Andrew WamboldtBefore Luol Deng went down with his injury last season, Vinny Del Negro hinted that he was going to make some changes to the Bulls’ starting lineups. Many took it to be that Del Negro was going to bench Ben Gordon and start John Salmons at shooting guard, but Del Negro revealed that it was Luol Deng who was going to the bench and not Ben Gordon. Luol Deng never ended up coming off the bench in that game against the Charlotte Bobcats or any game last season as he sat out the rest of the season with the stress fracture injury.
Over the past three years he has been pretty much immune from being benched, and the question must be asked, why? He isn’t a good enough player to warrant not being benched.
So far this preseason, through seven games, Deng is averaging 11.1 PPG on 48.95 TS%. His preseason has been a complete failure on the offensive end. Unfortunately this is just a continuing trend of his last two seasons where he averaged 17.0 PPG on 52.8 TS% in 2007-2008 and 14.1 PPG on 51.1 TS%. Deng has been an abysmal offensive player the last two years.
So what is the solution to the Luol Deng problem? Many will say to get him more involved in the offense. My question is why? Why would you want to get a player who produces such poor offensive results more involved in the offense? He is already jacking up contested shots at a high volume, why add more?
My solution is for the Bulls to salary dump Luol Deng on whatever team willing. I am all for the Bulls spending money. I would have rather them kept Tyson Chandler when they signed Ben Wallace, re-signed Ben Gordon, and went into the luxury tax for Pau Gasol, but Jerry Reinsdorf deserves a break here, because this isn’t salary dumping a player, this is getting rid of one of the worst, if not the worst contract in the entire NBA, for a mediocre at best player.
Luol Deng is unlikely to ever be a good offensive player in his career again. He had one good offensive year during the 2006-2007 season, in which he averaged 18.8 PPG on 56.0 TS%, but hasn’t had much success since then. In the 2006-2007 season, Luol Deng hit the midrange jumpshot at an elite rate. He hasn’t done it since. On the offensive end all Luol Deng is now, is an average midrange jumpshooter who can’t take his man off the dribble. That’s not a player who is going to be a good scorer in the league. Since Luol Deng has a very low upside scoring the ball because of his lack of a three point shot and ability to take his man off the dribble, less offensive possessions should be given to Luol Deng.
The one thing that Luol Deng does have going for him is that he is a very good defender at the small forward spot, but is that enough to warrant a starting spot? Yes, the Spurs started Bruce Bowen, who was only useful on the defensive side of the ball. However, Bruce Bowen was a good three point shooter, so he could stretch the defense for Tony Parker’s penetration and Tim Duncan in the low post. Luol Deng, with his lack of three point shot, compacts the defense in, narrowing Derrick Rose’s driving lanes. Deng is a poor fit next to the Bulls’ star, Derrick Rose, in the starting lineup.
If the Bulls were to bench Deng, they could go in one of two directions. They could start rookie James Johnson, who would give the Bulls a size advantage at the small forward spot. Johnson would be able to post up some of the skinnier small forwards in the league. Unlike Deng, Johnson shows no reluctance to shooting the three point shot, hitting from 30% so far in preseason. Not great, but better than what we’re currently getting at that position.
However, what would give the Bulls their best starting lineup, at least for this year, would be to move John Salmons over to the small forward spot, like last season, and start Kirk Hinrich at shooting guard. Hinrich has been a pretty good three point shooter throughout the course of his career and has shot a blistering 58.8% from three this preseason. With two good three point shooters on the wings, the other team will have to play out, opening up more driving lanes.
It looks as though that Luol Deng will get the start at small forward in the season opener. He has started every game in the preseason so far, despite his poor production. If Luol Deng comes stumbling out of the gate, Del Negro should send him to the bench. If Deng comes stumbling out of the gate, it’s not because he’s in a shooting slump or having a bad November, it’s because Luol Deng isn’t an NBA caliber starting small forward. Enough with the excuses for Deng, either he produces this year, or he goes to the bench and is seen for what he is, a mediocre NBA player.
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Tags: 2009-2010 Season, Luol Deng, starter
October 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I agree with pretty much everything you wrote.
Only slight change I would make is that I would put Hinrich at SF, where he caused all kinds of havoc last year. It’s not like Salmons is a big time rebounder, and he isn’t a better defender then Kirk. Kirk would also rotate between SF and PG.
As far as Luol, his mid range game is weak, and he hall kinds of problems with more athletic SF. His contract right up there with Soriano right now in terms of financial Chicago sports team disastrous signings.