Waiving Nate Robinson Would Be Mistake for Chicago Bulls

I understand that Robinson isn’t a superstar, and I get that he’s only 5’9″, but he’s still a consistent force to be reckoned with on a daily basis.

And yet, that doesn’t seem to matter. Robinson struggled to generate any suitors over the offseason and when he finally did, there were no multi-year contracts to be had. So he signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Chicago Bulls.

To date, Robinson is averaging 10.8 points and 3.6 assists in 21.1 minutes per game. He’s shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Stellar numbers? Of course, but according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that may not prevent the Bulls from waiving him:

The Bulls signed the veteran guard to a deal that doesn’t become fully guaranteed until Jan. 10. That means they can waive Robinson with no penalty any time before that date, an option that always has been under consideration internally.

Teague’s development, not to mention Derrick Rose’s expected return, could make Robinson expendable.

Is Chicago—and I mean this is the most respectful of fashions possible—freaking kidding me?

Again, I understand that Robinson doesn’t provide any size, but he’s instance offense. He’s also posting a 16.2 PER, the third-highest on the Bulls. Most notably, that’s also higher than both Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague.

But yeah, cut him in favor of a rookie who really hasn’t shown all that much. And cut a high-scoring guard like him even though Johnson notes Chicago is shopping shooting guard Richard Hamilton.

Once again, I reiterate, are you kidding me? Even when Derrick Rose returns, Robinson provides an athletic punch off the pine that neither Hinrich or Teague can.

I’m not going to pretend that Robinson is going to be the difference between title contention and a lottery appearance, but let it be known he can help this team with or without Rose. He’s valuable as a point man off the bench, yet he’s extremely adept at playing off the ball, which allows him to be used as an undersized shooting guard.

Best of all, Robinson doesn’t need a lot of minutes to make an impact. Those 10.8 points of his are coming in barely 20 minutes of burn a night. That’s incredible and gives him an average of 24 points per 48 minutes. Let’s not neglect to mention that he’s costing the Bulls less than $1.2 million this season either.

So no, I don’t think the Bulls should waive Robinson. Not now and certainly not when Rose comes back.

Unless they’re hell-bent decreasing the potency of their backcourt attack.