4 silver linings to Dwyane Wade’s season-ending injury

3. Opportunities for young players

Sixty percent of Chicago’s roster is made up of guys 25-and-younger. They have one certified star in Jimmy Butler, a bunch of decent role players, and a cluster of unknown quantities. The rest of the season should be dedicated to development and seeing what they have in each of them. The most likely candidates to receive a minutes uptick are the troika of Denzel Valentine, Cam Payne, and Paul Zipser.

Valentine was Chicago’s first round pick in the past draft, and is only averaging 15 minutes per game on the season. Coming out of Michigan State, he had been touted as versatile and NBA ready and the Bulls should do everything they can to see if he’s actually a useful piece. The fact that he’s already shooting over 34 percent on 3-pointers should be the top reason for him to soak up minutes.

At the trade deadline, Chicago brought over Payne in a deal that shipped out Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott. It feels like Payne’s been in the league for a while now, but he’s still only 22. Playing behind human typhoon, Russell Westbrook, he never really got a chance to showcase himself in Oklahoma City. With two years left on his rookie contract (per Spotrac), and no inspiring names in front of him on the depth chart, Chicago would be wise to find out if he’s their point guard of the future.

Zipser, 2016’s second round pick from Germany, is showing a lot of encouraging signs in his rookie campaign. Hoiberg recently praised him as a solid two way player, and the more time he gets will definitively paint the picture for how high he can fall in the rotation.

As a secondary bonus for the Bulls, putting these pieces on display pumps up their trade values if the front office ever decides they want to part ways.