Jabari Ali Parker: Chicago native, restricted free agent.
While Milwaukee is but a stone’s throw away from Chicago, it’s not home– sure he’s currently in Milwaukee– but there may be an opening to truly be home, less than two hours south in sweet home Chicago.
This offseason, Parker will be a (highly?) sought-after restricted free agent. And since the smooth shooting Parker has made his frustrations in Milwaukee public, it appears he won’t be back in Milwaukee at the start of the 2018-2019 season.
Jabari Parker a Bust?
“I deserve to be out there,” Parker told reporters after the Bucks lost game two against the Boston Celtics. Saying that the only way to get more playing time was to get on interim head coach Joe Prunty’s “good side.” When asked if he was on that good side, Parker replied. “I don’t think so.”
That was news to Prunty:
Asked about Jabari Parker, Joe Prunty said he’s on his good side. Doesn’t know why Parker would say/think he’s not. Mentioned that defense and rebounding are ways Parker can help off the bench, but said those things aren’t limited to Parker.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) April 19, 2018
Jabari Parker to the Bulls
Yeah, we all know– the man’s had injuries. And as the Bulls attempt to exorcise the ghosts of Simeon graduates past (Derrick Rose) Jabari Parker to the Bulls may not be the hometown savior Chicago deserves, and certainly not the one it needs. However, if constructed well by the two-headed dragon of GarPax, Jabari could be just what the doctor ordered. Being that Jabari is still only 23 years of age and seemingly being mismanaged by a division rival just north of the border, a hometown discount signing of Parker could potentially pay dividends in the midst of a rebuild and return to relevancy.
For a natural-born scorer, the idea that the only way Parker can help the team is through “defense and rebounding” must sound like a loss of faith in the reasoning behind the Bucks faith in choosing him second overall, to begin with. Standing at 6’8″ and roughly 235 pounds, Parker is reminiscent of a young Carmelo Anthony– defense should never be questioned– as defense was never the calling card of his game in the first place. Defense can be coached, offensive excellence cannot.
Let’s call a spade a spade– when have the Milwaukee Bucks not been mediocre? Even with a top 5 player in the Greek Freak, the addition of Eric Bledsoe, and a very nice player in Khris Middleton, the Bucks ousted a coach this year and are having a helluva hard time beating a team without it’s two best players (Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward). This team is going nowhere and have no plans in including Parker in their path to wherever they fuck they plan to be next year or five years from now. Parker has been sapped of the explosiveness that made him such a tantalizing prospect coming out of Duke.
Long story short, It may behoove Chicago to give the kid a chance.
