Reviewing this past Bulls draft almost can make someone sound completely two-faced. The Bulls did some things very well, but other things reflected what's killing this team right now. The picks themselves were good picks, but there was still more that the Bulls could have done.
Getting the negative out of the way as quickly as possible, the Bulls just simply didn't make any big or risky moves. There were an awful lot of trades that went down right around the draft, but the Bulls were not involved in any of them. With the number of trades that did happen, you'd have me doubled over laughing if you tried to tell me that they didn't have any real chance to pull out any moves. This team is a product of the Paxson inability to take that risk to take the team to the next level. They're a good team, no doubt, much due to the luck of having Derrick Rose fall into their lap, but you're never going to get to go from a good team to a great team, or at least a contender if you don't take a risk or two, if you don't go out there and make some real moves. I give Paxson and Foreman (honestly, I don't know where his influence has been over the years, I just know now that he's the one that's taking on the media spotlight) full credit for making that great trade for Miller and Salmons. However, even that trade was no more than a moderate risk. Let's see a big risk taken. The Bulls had every chance at doing that to get Amare Stoudemire last year, but chickened out. It's things like that which will hold this team back from making that next step. Go ahead and trade Tyrus Thomas, Luol Deng, draft picks, whatever to get him. He's the best finisher right now in the game, and that's what they really need. A finisher, they rely too much on the jumper, they need someone to finish.
To summarize all of that, they failed to make any moves despite likely having plenty of chances. In that aspect they failed miserably and once again made a joke out of the franchise.
However, there were the actual picks. James Johnson was the first pick. With his 6'8" height he's only slightly short for a power forward, but a very good size to play the small forward. At about 260 lbs he's a little bit for a small forward, but has great size to play the power forward. At this point you can become confused with what you have. Do you have a small forward or a power forward? The answer isn't so easy, but when you realize certain things about him, it makes you much more optimistic. Johnson has a silky smooth game, great athletic ability, and is a quick player, which makes him a very good candidate to play the small forward position, despite his overall size. However, Johnson is a very physical player on both the perimeter and down low. He's a kickboxing champion who will not let anyone from other teams get away with things like what Rajon Rondo got away with this past year in the playoffs. His height is only a little bit short for a power forward, but his weight and strength combined with his toughness make him an excellent candidate for that position. In other words, instead of being a guy where you aren't sure where to put him, he's a guy who you would love to put at either spot. It's a dilemma that any GM would love to have. Throw in that the guy has a solid jump shot and you have to realize one thing. When the Bulls played Deng at the 3 and Nocioni at the 4 in their starting lineups, the Bulls did very well. With Johnson you have Nocioni, plus an inch or two on height and about 20-30 pounds in weight as well as someone who's even tougher than Nocioni. Johnson also has a better jumper than Nocioni as well as a better and more controlled and smooth post game. Really, I see him as a big upgrade over Nocioni.
As for the second pick, this is where there is more debate. While Johnson was only rivaled by Ohio State center Byron Mullens as far as who the Bulls should've picked at #16 (don't even try to give me any Blair at #16 BS), Taj Gibson was a bit more controversial. DeJuan Blair was still in the mix at that point as well as Josh Heytvelt and Jeff Pendergraph. With Taj Gibson the Bulls pick up an experienced big man who can block shots at will. No, he won't matches Dikembie or Hakeem levels, but he'll block a lot of shots. He also has a very underrated offensive game. People look too much at his combine measurements and fail to view the fact that whenever called upon he was able to perform. He was a very efficient offensive player in college and showed some things like his footwork which show that his skills, despite his low weight of just less than 220 lbs that he'll be able to help the team out. Gibson not only brings length, but a high level of fundamentals that will be able to help the team out down low.
So, to grade the night as a whole, you have to say that the Bulls failed miserably. Sure, they picked the right guys for the team, no one who really understands things will really debate that. However, the fact that the Bulls likely chickened out on multiple moves, or at very least didn't make moves when they had every chance to shows how this current group leading things has failed many times before. The Bulls have Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich to throw out there to any team out there. They can clearly survive without either, given that Hinrich was only a backup point guard last year and Deng barely played. However, they failed to deal not both of them, but either one of them. Come on guys, wake up. We're spending too much money on someone to just be a backup point guard and Deng is a guy that isn't going to grow with the Bulls, playing the same role as Tyrus Thomas has not only knocked down his trade value, but really knocked down his total value. In a traditional system Deng is a true stud. However, he's not playing in one right now and likely won't be for a while. His value right now is as high as it ever will be. He's going to cost this team a lot of money in the future as it is, and given that it's proven that he's not necessary to the success of the team, it's obvious that we need to trade him, but of course, Pax likes his guy to much to give him up.
To Paxson and Foreman. You made the right picks, but given how much better you could have made this team, you two failed miserably. There were too many trades to be made for this team to have settled for a #16 and a #26 pick. Good picks when made, but there were too many other moves that could have easily been made that could have vastly improved the team that were missed. On the picks I give a B+, but as far as helping the team, it's a D. Being as professional as I can, grow some balls and make some moves.
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