Bulls sign Jaylen Johnson

Exciting moment for the youngster

It’s Jaylen Johnson’s turn to get his shot in a Chicago Bulls uniform.

The Bulls announce the signing of forward Jaylen Johnson. Johnson has played in 49 games (37 starts) this season for the Windy City Bulls. #Bulls #BullsNation

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) March 24, 2018

Johnson is a 6-foot-9-inch power forward from the University of Louisville. In 49 games with the Windy City Bulls this season, he’s averaged 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. He also shoots the ball at a 30 percent clip from behind the 3-point line. Over at Ridiculous Upside, BAB contributor Vijay Vemu broke down Johnson’s game based on what he has shown in the G League this season.

Here are the takeaways from that article...

Despite being undersized height wise for his power forward position, Johnson is relentless on the glass and uses his 7-foot-1-inch wingspan to his full advantage. His 12.5 rebounds per 48 minutes checks in at No. 10 in the G League and is a testament to how tenacious he is on the glass.

Vijay notes another thing on Johnson in his article. He averages 3.0 assists per game despite only fielding a 19.4 percent usage percentage in the G League. He’s a solid passer from a variety of different spots on the floor, and the Windy City Bulls occasionally even run plays through him.

In three years at Louisville, Johnson averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. In a surprising decision, Johnson chose to forgo his senior year of eligibility and declare for the 2017 NBA draft citing a desire to help his family out financially as a reason for his decision. Unsurprisingly, without the top-end numbers to distinguish himself from his peers, Johnson went undrafted.

The Bulls signed him to a training camp deal last fall and he’s latched on with the G League squad since Chicago cut him on Oct. 14.

His scouting report, per the old DraftExpress.com site, was that his skillset was raw, but he was athletic and had some of the physical tools to make it worth the risk especially since he’s only 21 years old.

Long, mobile 4/5 with a developing frame. Lacks significant polish but still in an early stage of development. Shows some small glimpses of versatility that hint of developing into an effective modern day power forward, but needs time, patience and good coaching to get there. -Jonathan Givony

As far as his fit in Chicago, it’s highly possible that the Bulls give him the Jarell Eddie treatment and barely play him at all. However, there’s a few reasons to have optimism that he may get more of an opportunity than Eddie did.

• The Bulls have a litany of injuries to wing players from Antonio Blakeney Zach LaVine, and Paul Zipser to Lauri Markkanen’s back spasms. There’s obviously more room at the small forward position, so the Bulls may have to play Johnson out of position if they want to see him play.
• The Bulls have zero incentive to win another game this season, so playing developmental players should be a top priority.

Whether it equates to meaningful minutes or not, Johnson will forever get to tell people he signed a contract to play in the NBA.

from Blog a Bull - All Posts https://ift.tt/2uoY78L