Bernstein: What's The Bulls' Plan For Doug McDermott?
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) Doug McDermott being named to the all-NBA Summer League first team would feel more significant if he didn't do the exact same thing a year ago, before falling out of the rotation and out of favor, then hurting his knee and essentially disappearing.
So it's clear he can score against D-Leaguers and end-of-bench guys, but the Bulls themselves don't seem to know if the 6-foot-8 forward can actually play or even where he should line up when he tries.
When McDermott was acquired in 2014 -- arriving along with throw-in Anthony Randolph for two mid-first-round picks and a second-rounder -- general manager Gar Forman said, "We were very fortunate to put ourselves in a position where we could move up to get Doug with the 11th pick. We've talked about Doug's ability to shoot the basketball."
He shot 40.2 percent from the field in mostly garbage-time minutes last year, including 31.7 percent from 3-point range. In last year's summer league, McDermott's shooting numbers were .442/.444. This year they were .488/.125 (2-for-16).
Former coach Tom Thibodeau couldn't countenance McDermott's slow feet on defense, but the thought was that the scoring-minded Fred Hoiberg would be a more welcoming coach. That may indeed be the case now, but Hoiberg has been vague in describing McDermott's role, making reference to positional anomalies.
"I think you can play him at different spots," Hoiberg told the Chicago Tribune. "Was Harrison Barnes a (power forward) ever in his life? No, but he played it in the playoffs. Was Terrence Jones ever a center? No, but he played it in the playoffs."
What that actually means is anybody's guess, particularly for a team whose roster would seem unfavorable to finding him easy, obvious minutes. The three-year deal for Mike Dunleavy means the 34-year old will be on the team through the two option years on McDermott's rookie contract. There's Nikola Mirotic, too, expected to continue to progress as a stretch-four while seeing some time at small forward. There's Taj Gibson, and rookie Bobby Portis also projects to the power forward spot. Hoiberg can't actually be hinting that he thinks McDermott may see time as an NBA center, can he?
That's why the Dunleavy move was a head-scratcher for many of us who expected that McDermott would slide right into that job, assuming responsibility as the busy floor-spacer moving relentlessly off the ball to keep defenses honest. If he was projected to be good enough to cost those three picks and merit a lottery slot, that certainly wouldn't be asking too much in his second NBA year.
Alas, it's not the case, and we continue with the same questions about his game. Last year we wondered where Doug McDermott was, and now we still wonder what he is.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.