Challenges Face Del Negro

Bulls fans and writers seem to be excited about the Vinny Del Negro era in Chicago, as many are giving him a vote of confidence, but Del Negro certainly has his challenges ahead of him. Del Negro has a lot of talent on the roster, but a lot of that talent is young, which is both good and bad. The good side is that it’s easier to develop a young player with potential than get more out of a veteran who has never quite realized his. On the bad side, Del Negro is sure to experience his fair share of frustration due to the mistakes that NBA youths are bound to make.

First and foremost, I think Del Negro needs to sit down with Luol Deng and make it known to the fifth year swingman that he’s the go-to guy on the team. Deng is supremely talented as has developed very well for a guy who is still only 23. He’s got length, athleticism, good quickness for his size and a nice mid-range jump shot. Deng needs to take the next step in his career and get more than the 14 shot attempts per game that he averaged last year. Del Negro also needs to make it clear to resident chucker Larry Hughes that Deng and Ben Gordon are their main scoring options so Hughes abstains from taking bad shot after bad shot, as he’s been known to do. Del Negro also has to help along Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah offensively because neither has much of an offensive game to speak of aside from dunks and put-backs. With all the talent on this roster and an incoming number one pick, the Bulls’ future looks very bright, but it will take some work to succeed in the present.

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