It’s been a long time since I really thought all that much about Wendell Carter Jr., occasionally he would slip in unbidden with his eyes all wide and I would get spooked, but other than those few times, he’s been absent from my awarness. He got injured in January, killing whatever meager hype he was earning (and it actually was a little bit, since he was scoring a decent amount of points), and now he’s just another sophomore player trying to find his way in the league.
Did you know he was picked seventh overall last year? Oh my goodness. I figure he was drafted in, like, the mid teens or maybe even lower. Seventh? Out of all the untold number of players eligible to be drafted? Now I’m really wondering where the hype for this dude is. Bulls fans, you need to answer for this. I understand that Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine are more easily hyped, but I haven’t seen enough chest-puffery about how good Carter is going to be this year. Step it up.
One of the problems with Carter, well it’s not really a problem other than for aesthetic reasons, but he just doesn’t score in very exciting ways. He can dunk, but I can only think of a small handful of times where he really DUNKED. He’s a young big that plays like a vet already, which is great for winning games but not as great for getting butts in seats. Did anyone ever come out just to see Elton Brand play? Of course not.
Take note: I just compared Carter to Elton Brand and I’m being like 75 percent serious right now.