NBA Draft 2020: 5 franchises that needs to add shooting most

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are at the top of the list for one simple reason. Their one-year shift in offensive philosophy was more dramatic than any team in the league. The Bulls were 27th in the league in 3-point attempts per game in the 2018-19 season with 25.9 per game. That figure jumped up to 35.1 attempts per game from 3-point range in the 2019-20 season, which was good for 11th in the league.

Despite the Bulls buying into modern basketball, the execution was not up to snuff. They shot just over 35 attempts per game from 3-point range but only hit 34.8% of them (22nd in the league).

Whether it was because of a lack of creativity on offense from Jim Boylen or the relative lack of familiarity between the new players on the roster, the Bulls underperformed. Underperforming with what can be described as very modest expectations is extremely disappointing. But the big jump to the No. 4 pick allows the Bulls to add a talented shooter to their roster.

With so many players shooting worse than their career numbers from 3-point range last season, the Bulls could see a decent jump in offensive efficiency in the 2020-21 season with a simple regression to the mean and the addition of a rookie with some range. Add in the effect of new head coach Billy Donovan, and it’s not hard to imagine the Bulls being considerably better next season.

Tyrese Haliburton

6-foot-5 – PG – Iowa State – career 42.6% from 3-point range – 237 total 3-point attempts

Tyrese Haliburton may not be the first person you think of from the 2020 NBA Draft class when I say “shooter,” but he has done more than enough to prove himself as a threat from deep. Haliburton has no problems getting his shot off under moderate pressure despite a somewhat slow release on his jump shot. This is due to the fact that he is 6-foot-5 and puts a considerable amount of arc of his shot.

Chicago needs more playmaking and Haliburton provides that in spades along with the ability to space the floor for pick-and-rolls between Zach LaVine (62.3% on FGA from 3-10 feet from the basket) and Wendell Carter Jr. (69.4% on FGA from 3-10 feet from the basket).

Kira Lewis Jr. 

6-foot-3 – PG – Alabama – career 36.2% 3-point shooter – 304 total 3-point attempts 

The Bulls will likely take a long look at ‘Bama point guard Kira Lewis Jr. While No. 4 would be too high for Lewis, Chicago has more than enough assets to move down from No. 4 or up from No. 44 (their second-round pick).

Lewis is one of the fastest end-to-end prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft class. He loves to attack the rim and in his sophomore season, he finished with a near-identical FG% at the rim (57.9% in ’19-’20 vs. 58.1% in ’18-’19) despite an impressive 11% increase in the percentage of shots (taken) at the rim.

Lewis is a true inside-out player with an impressive jumper considering how quickly he gets to the rim. Lewis is a bit similar to current Bulls’ guard Coby White in that regard but he brings a bit more to the table in terms of Day 1 passing prowess. Lewis projects to be a good 3-point shooter and he also fills an obvious position of need for Chicago.

Jay Scrubb

6-foot-6 – SG/SF – John A. Logan College (JUCO) – career 39.5% 3-point shooter – 233 total 3-point attempts:

Jay Scrubb is a JUCO/NCJAA prospect who burst onto NBA scouts’ radar with a particularly impressive two seasons at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois. Over those two seasons, he averaged 21 points per game.

Scrubb gets buckets with a silky-smooth game that reminds you of Devin Booker or Zach LaVine; he also has impressive raw athleticism that shows up in his ’19-’20 free throw attempt rate and steal/block figures.

Scrubb has a quick and compact jump shot and he gets a nice lift on it to boot. The fact that he has a 6-foot-9 wingspan makes it even tougher for defenders to bother his shot on closeouts. As with most microwave scorers, Scrubb can be a bit of a streaky shooter. He only hit 33.3% of his 3-point shots this season but in ’18-’19 he knocked down an elite 46.4% of his triples.

Keep in mind that Scrubb plays for an NCJAA team and his future NBA teammates will represent the most talented players he has played with by a ridiculously large margin, obviously more so than his 2020 draft class peers. Because of this, I expect Scrubb to shoot it quite well from deep in his rookie season as he will be taking the most open 3-point shots of his career.