Is the Bulls' Andrew Goudelock Versatile Enough to Stick in the NBA?

Andrew Goudelock took the D-League by storm this past season, emerging as a scoring champion and earning himself a minor league M.V.P. award. He helped propel the Rio Grande Valley Vipers into The Finals, and although they did in fact win the NBADL title, he wasn't part of such an accomplishment. Instead, Goudelock found himself in the NBA, starting in the big league playoffs after being called up by the Lakers.

While his efforts were pretty impressive all season long, Goudelock still had to wait until the minor league postseason to see himself earn a call-up.

Given how well he played throughout the year, why did he have to wait so long before making it back to The Association? As he's once again proving during NBA Summer League with his 22.7 points per game average (he's also been the beneficiary of "M.V.P." chants in Las Vegas), Goudelock can undeniably score with the best of them. He pours in the points in bunches, and as his "mini-Mamba" nickname suggests, when he gets hot, it's often difficult to cool him off.

But what else does he do? At 6'3" and 200 pounds, Goudelock isn't much of a point guard. He's not much of a floor general, nor a distributor. He's not the quickest of players, so that (coupled with his undersized frame) makes it difficult for him to matchup defensively against other opposing shooting guards.

Goudelock is a very savvy offensive player, and knows how to beat defenders in a bevy of different ways. There's no doubt about that. But with a handful of players currently owning similar skill sets, it proved difficult for him to break into the NBA this season despite his minor league success.

In addition to the Lakers, Goudelock's agent also held continued discussions this past year with the RGV Vipers' NBA affiliate, the Rockets, about giving him a shot. Now, he's in Las Vegas allowing the Bulls to get a very good look at him up close. He hasn't disappointed thus far.

But will such a summer stint be enough to propel him back into The Association with a guaranteed contract? That remains to be seen. Though many combo guards enjoy being able to bounce off the bench and provide their team with a jolt of offense, Goudelock's recent display of scoring prowess is perhaps suggesting he can do it better than most.

That said, a more versatile skill set would aid him as well. What else can he do? In a league already filled with offensive juggaurnauts, NBA teams often look to the D-League and other outlets (like Summer League) for players that can help in a number of different ways.

Whether or not Goudelock can do so remains to be proven.