The only direction for Doug McDermott to go is up. Stacey King believes he could be trending that way in a hurry this season.
Speaking at the Bulls/Sox Academy in Lisle on Tuesday, the Bulls' color commentator said McDermott could earn some hardware All-Star Jimmy Butler took home a year ago.
"I totally would not be surprised if Doug McDermott is the most improved player in the NBA this year," King said. "I know his minutes are going to go up. This is a kid who was a lottery pick, the Bulls gave up a lot to get him."
The No. 11 pick in last June's NBA Draft, McDermott had a largely forgettable rookie campaign. He appeared in just 36 games after needing knee surgery in November, and averaged 3.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. Part of McDermott's quiet campaign stemmed from former coach Tom Thibodeau's apathy toward playing rookies, something King also noted.
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"Tom Thibodeau is one of those old-school coaches; he doesn't play younger players. Jimmy Butler didn't play his first year and the only reason he played his second year is because Rip Hamilton and Marco Belinelli got hurt, and we may not have seen Jimmy prosper into the player he is now," he said. "So I expect the same kind of improvement from Doug McDermott under Fred Hoiberg. He's going to play."
McDermott got his first taste of life under Hoiberg in the Las Vegas Summer League; McDermott averaged 18.8 points on 49 percent shooting in five games, and should see a larger role in Hoiberg's up-tempo offensive system.
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King also touted Tony Snell, and surmised that the front office's faith in both McDermott and Snell were reasons they felt comfortable not adding another wing or shooter this offseason. The team selected power forward Bobby Portis with the No. 22 pick and re-signed Mike Dunleavy to a three-year, $14 million contract.
"A lot of people say, 'you need to go out and get a swing player.' Well, you've got two quality young players that can help you right now that if given the time can really do some special things," King said. "I'm excited to see these younger players play. It's going to be a fun year."