The Bulls had high expectations for No. 14 pick Denzel Valentine, but they haven’t really seen what they have in him yet.

Valentine hasn’t played much because of a preseason ankle injury that knocked him out of the rotation early. But his minutes have been steadily increasing.

Valentine and Doug McDermott (via trade) are the only lottery picks that the Bulls have added on draft day since they took Derrick Rose in 2008. There are expectations that come with those high selections, but Valentine has only played 121 minutes in 12 games.

Let’s take a look at the book on Valentine coming out of the draft and what he’s done to confirm or dispel his college scouting report thus far.

Scoring and shot creation

Valentine’s NBA-ready skill was supposed to be his shooting, and he’s been a disappointment so far on that level. After hitting on an incredible 44 percent of his 3-pointers in his senior year, he’s just 8-of-24 on mostly open or wide-open catch-and-shoot looks.

Valentine struggled in summer league and preseason with his shooting, and he’ll likely need some time to get acclimated to the NBA 3-point line. That’s not something that should be a long-term concern at this point.

What is more troubling though is Valentine’s absolute lack of shot creation, which was one of the big knocks on him coming into the draft.

Valentine’s Draft Express profile stated that “he often has a tough time turning the corner against better defenders in the half-court” and “When he is able to get past his man, he often simply isn’t explosive enough to finish what he creates inside the paint, forcing him to rely very heavily on floaters.” Both of these critiques have looked to be very accurate.

Valentine has only created six shots from within 15 feet. Worse though is that many of his shots have been jarring in their ugliness.

Valentine doesn’t look fast enough to get by his man at the NBA level, and he’s just 2-of-10 on his shots inside the arc. That’s a big disappointment, as he was an excellent player in the pick-and-roll coming out of college. It looks like much of his offense will be relegated to distance shooting, and indeed a stunning 71 percent of his early shots have been 3-pointers.

Passing and high IQ

Valentine had a knack for making dazzling passes in summer league, and he’s continued to make heady plays thus far.

His Draft Express profile noted, “Valentine may have the highest basketball IQ of any player in this draft, as his timing and instincts as a playmaker are simply off the charts.”

Valentine’s passes aren’t always jaw-dropping, but they’re almost always the right play. He’s an instinctual and smart passer, and that’s a skill that is fairly difficult to teach.

Defense

The biggest concern about Valentine coming into the draft was that he would be a huge liability on defense. He was hidden by Tom Izzo in Michigan State’s defensive schemes because he was a very poor individual defender. His lack of speed and athleticism really hampered his effectiveness on this end.

So far, Valentine has proven his critics wrong. He had trouble in the preseason and summer league, but he has done an outstanding job of staying in front of his man so far this season.

Valentine was excellent in containing Philadelphia 76ers point guard Sergio Rodriguez on Friday, especially late in the clock. He fought over screens and used his length to force opposing players into tough contested shots.

Valentine won’t ever be a stopper, but if he can play passable defense on point guards, it opens up a ton of options for the Bulls. Positional versatility is at a premium in today’s NBA, and it’s rare to find a wing that can credibly guard three positions.

Part of the improvement may simply be a matter of effort. His Draft Express profile noted, “His effort really comes and goes, as he often looks fairly lazy closing out on shooters or trying to keep his man in front. Valentine relies heavily on reaching and grabbing his man to try and slow him down, which simply will not work at the NBA level.”

Valentine has been locked in on the defensive end thus far. He had an enormous amount of responsibilities in Michigan State’s offense, so it’s reasonable to think that he can maintain a higher effort level at the NBA where he will be asked to do much less.

Likely improvement

Valentine has barely played, so there’s definitely time for him to prove his scouting reports wrong. But at 23 years old, we should expect less dramatic improvement from him than other players in his draft class.

He’ll look a lot better and the floor will open up for him more as his shot improves. Valentine will have plenty of chances to become a productive rotation player and I expect him to see more playing time as the season progresses. He can potentially shore up a ton of areas that the Bulls are weak in such as 3-point shooting, defensive rebounding and point guard play. The chances of him developing into a superstar are looking pretty low, but the Bulls thus far have been a team that defies expectations.