Wendell Carter
Age: 21
Position: PF
Measurables: 6-foot-10, 270 lbs.
2021 stats : 10.9 PPG , 7.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 25.4 MPG
The 2018 first-round draft pick from the Chicago Bulls was one of the centerpieces of the Nikola Vucevic trade. Wendell Carter has been inconsistent in his time in the league so far though but is still a player with immense promise.
In what was viewed as a potential third-year breakout under new head coach Billy Donovan, Wendell Carter had some struggles maintaining consistency. He has also dealt with a slew of injuries throughout his career (including one that kept him out for 12 games in January and February. He spent his last seven games with the Bulls coming off the bench, averaging 7.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 19.5 minutes per game.
With that being said, Carter is still an extremely young and talented big man who is able to be a jack-of-all-trades kind of player at a minimum if used appropriately.
Carter has had some moments of incredible production (see: the Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers games) in which Carter flashes some impressive skills.
He scored 23 points in that loss to the Lakers back in January. It was the high point of his season. He is a solid post-up player and is good at passing out of the low post as well as a great screener, ranking in the top-10 percentil of screen assists per 75 possessions the last two seasons, according to Basketball-Index.
While still in development, Carter Jr has the potential of being a presence in the frontcourt that is big enough to dominate smaller frontcourt players yet dynamic enough to beat slower players off the dribble.
During the draft process in 2018, NBADraft.net compared Wendell Carter to Al Horford due to Carter’s potential as a versatile chess piece that can be utilized for all sorts of lineups.
He is already a strong offensive rebounder at least and has shown flashes as an interior defender. But there is still a lot of work. Poor coaching early in his career is at least partially responsible for some of his struggles and offensive issues so far.
The hope is for Carter to make major strides in his game with increased opportunities and a change of scenery in a team that has a track record of developing big men.