Lake Show Life
Fansided

NBA Draft: Too-Early NBA Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

By Cody Williams

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brandon Ingram (Duke) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brandon Ingram (Duke) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number two overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) walks off stage after being selected as the number fourteen overall pick to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) walks off stage after being selected as the number fourteen overall pick to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Denzel Valentine, SG/SF — No. 14 Pick, Chicago Bulls

Obviously Denzel Valentine out of Michigan State isn’t going to have the biggest role on the Chicago Bulls and he’s not even going to have the biggest role out of the two wing players if he were int he starting lineup as Jimmy Butler is still a person that exists and plays for the Bulls. However, Valentine showed throughout his college career that he’s the type of player with the talent to carve out a role right away in Chicago and have his proverbial voice be heard.

must read: Dissecting the ESPN Hate of D'Angelo Russell

Valentine was one of the most complete college basketball players in the country in his final year with Michigan State. He was a leader for the Spartans as a scorer, facilitator, rebounder, and even defender. He’s simply the utility player that you love to have on your basketball team, but he’s a utility player with a skill level to do a lot of things better than acceptable and actually do them well. That should serve him well as he comes into Chicago.

Also working in favor of the Bulls rookie is of course the fact that he’s matured over his full stay at Michigan State. We’ve seen in recent history that relatively highly drafted players that spent long careers at the college level have a good chance of making noise right away at the expense of some upside. That in addition to everything else bodes well for Valentine.

Next: No. 4 Brandon Ingram

Home/Lakers Draft