Good news for the Bulls: Their No. 14 pick, Denzel Valentine, looked good in his preseason debut.
Bad news for the Bulls: He also sprained his ankle.
Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News:
Denzel Valentine will likely miss 2 weeks with his ankle sprain
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) October 4, 2016
Valentine downplayed the injury after the game. Maybe Chicago is just being extremely cautious.
Either way, he should be back for the regular season.
However, missing portions of the preseason tends to be more detrimental the younger a player is. The rookie Valentine could use this time to transition to the NBA, though a four-year career at Michigan State provides a solid base. Still, this won’t help Valentine battle Doug McDermott, Tony Snell and Isaiah Canaan for wing minutes behind Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler.