The point guard market was drying up quickly when Monday morning rolled around, so the Bulls got creative.
What they received in Monday's sign-and-trade with the Washington Wizards for point guard Tomas Satoransky is the perfect fit for where they are in their rebuild.
The Bulls had been linked to a handful of significant veteran point guards, including Darren Collison (retired), Ricky Rubio (Suns), Cory Joseph (Kings) and Patrick Beverley (Clippers). Some were simply too expensive for what the Bulls were looking to spend after giving Thaddeus Young $41 million, while others were simply too ball-dominant. The Bulls want the ball in their best players' hands, and that's exactly what they'll get having Satoransky initiate the offense.
Despite starting 54 games and playing in 80, Satoransky's usage rate was just 14.1%, per Basketball Reference. He was one of 10 NBA players to log 27 or more minutes per game and have a usage rate below 14.5%; the only other point guard was Beverley, who for all intents and purpose was a shooting guard alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That's not to say Satoransky didn't contribute. He had a 3.50 assist-to-turnover ratio in 54 games as a starter. That would have placed him ninth in the NBA, and his season-long mark of 3.31 ATO was 18th in the league. ATO isn't exactly the best indicator of success as a passer, Satoransky was top-40 in assist percentage (24.7%) while sharing the ball quite often with Beal (also a 24.7% assist rate but a massive 28.4% usage rate).
He'll be tasked with initiating halfcourt offense and pushing pace when possible - the Wizards were ninth in pace and seventh in transition frequency last season. His 5.0 assists won't jump off his Basketball Reference page, but he was in a low-usage role with Bradley Beal handling the ball early and often. It wasn't dissimilar from what Zach LaVine did last season with the Bulls, only Satoransky is capable of playing off the ball and initiating offense from the wing spots.
Don't read too much into Satoransky's shooting percentages. He was one of seven qualifying players this year to average at least 27 minutes and fewer than 7 field goal attempts per game. The other names on that list were all niche players (DeAndre Jordan, P.J. Tucker, Patrick Beverley, Draymond Green, Mikal Bridges, Garrett Temple). He's never going to be a volume scorer - his season-high was 21 and he had eight instances as a starter in which he scored five or fewer points. He's efficient on an incredibly low volume, which isn't a bad thing for what the Bulls want him to do.
NBA
Of point guards who averaged 27 minutes per game, Satoransky's 6.1 drives were 40th of 43 players (Ball, Beverley, Forbes were the only PGs who averaged fewer).
But again, he's not a negative as a scorer. He's a career .490/.400/.792 shooter. He picks his spots well, doesn't force much - something the usage speaks to - and he's more than capable of hitting an open jumper. The Bulls are going to love what he can do off the ball; the last two seasons he has made 44.4% of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. For context, Kris Dunn shot 29.4% on such shots the past two seasons. As was the case when the Bulls drafted Coby White, they have more of a combo guard in Satoransky than a true point guard. And that's a good thing.
The verdict is still out on his defense. He has tremendous size at 6-foot-7 and is better off the ball than on it, though playing primarily point guard last season hurt his numbers. But the Bulls weren't going to solve all their woes in one free-agency class (and they got better defensively with the addition of Thaddeus Young).
Satoransky was the safe play. The Bulls didn't swing for the fences and give an established veteran like Ricky Rubio $51 million, and they didn't overpay for a career backup in Cory Joseph. But they also made an investment. A three-year deal worth $30 million isn't cheap, and it dips into the all-important 2021 cap space. The Bulls like Satoransky or they wouldn't have paid him like they did. In a best-case scenario, he keeps the starter's seat warm for Coby White until the 7th pick in last month's draft is ready to take over. Then Satoransky patrols the second unit that rolled out some ugly, ugly lineups last season.
He'll help move along the offense and put guys like Markkanen, LaVine and Porter in the right spots to succeed. LaVine can have the ball in his hands and the offense won't become a 4-on-5 mismatch. Porter and Markkanen/Carter can run two-man game and know that Satoransky is available for a cross-court pass and an open triple.
Simply put, it was the right signing at the right time.