[cominup7Participant]

The Bulls are in a very weird situation. Their best player is under 25 while the rest of their nucleus is either nearing 30 (Deng, Noah, Gibson) or past 30 (Boozer, Hamilton).

While I don’t recommend they blow up the roster just yet, they do have to start looking at creating another talented core of young players. They started last year by drafting Marquis Teague, who they said would basically be a developmental player, & Nikola Mirotic will be coming overseas soon.

So I suggest the Bulls start drafting high upside players instead of the safe picks in the late 1st-early 2nd (Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson) that they usually do. I had a couple names but you can add to it:

G/F Ricky Ledo, Archie Goodwin, Rodney Williams
F/C Luca Nogueira, CJ Leslie, Isaiah Austin

ANY OTHERS?

[ASAP HenryParticipant]

Here is my problem with the Bulls, Derrick Rose developed so fast that instead of surrounding him with young talent and allowing that young talent to gel together, they went the other way and surrounded him with veterans and entered the “win now” phase. I really wish the Bulls had copied the OKC blue-print and kept surrounding Rose with younger guys.

I personally would love to see them amnesty Boozer this summer, and then aggressively shop Deng for either a nice young piece (Terrence Ross, or someone like him) or obtain a high draft pick for him. The Bulls need to build a team around Derrick Rose that can grow together, not just throwing more quick fix solutions, such as adding a multitude of veterans.

[fastdanParticipant]

They didn’t develop too fast, they had been rebuilding since 1998, bringing tons of high lottery picks, Brand, Curry, Chandler, Williams, Gordon, Deng, Hinrich, Noah, and then finally Rose. They were a pretty poorly managed team for a long time, but picked up some solid roles players that made for a decent team. But they got incredibly lucky when they landed Rose. They were well passed over due to get over the post-Jordan hangover, and tanking for another 2 years to bring in some top talent wasn’t really in the cards; they were a good team his rookie year, they wern’t going to lose 50-60 games.

But with a healthy team they were a few games from the finals, and were clearly a championship calibur team. To say they should blow it up and take chances on unproven young guys and hope for good draft picks is absolutely laughable.

[SiggyParticipant]

Exactly. The Bulls lucked into D.Rose. They already had a solid core that was still young. There was no reason to tear it all down and get rid of good players just to get worse when they already had a promising LT and near term future with Rose being great earlier than expected.
A whole lot of luck goes into rebuilding like the Thunder because you have to hit on virtually every pick. The Wizards and Kings tried it too. Where are they? Kings still suck and the Wizards only are showing signs of turning it around with a more veteran team.

[Bossy13Participant]

edit – the guys above said I was saying.

[ASAP HenryParticipant]

In terms of the draft, I agree. They need to start selecting more high risk/ high reward type guys. I would love to see Archie Goowdin end up in a Bulls uniform next year. Also, if we could trade Deng to move into the top 10, then we should really target Shabazz. He would be perfect to pair with Rose as our backcourt of the future. If not Shabazz, then certainly Goodwin should be an option, along with Oladipo.

Oldapio would actually be a better fit than Bazz now that I think about it. He would fit in right away on defense, and would really give a big boost in terms of athleticism. Come on Bulls!!! Trade Deng so we can move into the top 10!!!! I’m begging you

[fastdanParticipant]

It’s a tough spot for Chicago on draft day because while it sounds good to draft young, high upside guys to grow with Rose, you have to remember that next year they’ll be making a legit run at the title. To do that you need a solid players, not projects. to round out your rotation. So it’s either draft a guy like Whitey who can step in and be a pretty good backup from day one, or take a guy like Goodwin, who’s liable to struggle with shot selection, advanced team defense, hitting the rookie wall etc. which isn’t going to help your team trying to go all the way.

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

Archie Goodwin was the first person I thought of as well. Along with Tony Mitchell.

[SiggyParticipant]

Why are Rodney Williams and CJ Leslie considered high upside picks? Because they’re athletic? They’ve been as athletic for 3-4 yrs of college ball and they’ve only improved minimally as basketball players. How quickly players improve has a lot to do with how close they come to reaching their potential.

Yes to Archie and Nogueira. Maybe to Ledo. No to the rest.

[cuseflynn10Participant]

I think the Bulls should target a SG this draft to allow Rose a swingman to gel with over the years. The first three players who came to my mind were Archie Goodwin, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, and Ricky Ledo. I feel like Ledo has the most upside of the three of them and think he would fit in better alongside Rose. Goodwin and KCP are good players, but rely more on attacking the basket, which is exactly what Rose does. While Ledo hasn’t played any games, I think he’d be worth the risk in the late teens or early twenties area for Chicago.

And if they were to amnesty Boozer and trade Deng, they could go after Len, Noel, Bennett, or Zeller and give Butler a bigger role at the SF. I’m not sold on the Bulls trading Deng just yet though.

[Ghost01Participant]

The Bulls really didn’t do the veteran thing bwcause of Rose, they did it because in 2010 they wanted to get LeBron James so they carved out a ton of cap to get him. When they failed to get him or Wade, they settled for overpaying Boozer, and signing multiple veteran guys, while losing JJ Redick to Orlando matching there offer, who was probably the best mid level guy they were targeting. Then after 2011 everyone thought they were a shooting guard away from a title, so they thought Rip Hamilton was the answer there, and well, he wasn’t. But I agree that they need to start adding some young talent. I love Jimmy Butler, and they technically have Mirotic at some point, but they still need to add some youth to this mix.

[r377Participant]

They could even look at Jeff Withey if still available. I think its safe to say he will never be an all-star or have massive potential but you know what your going to get…. Very similar role to Asik when he was in Chicago….

[ChewyParticipant]

Late 1st Round- Withey, McDermott, Isiah Austin = Withey who is a blue collar type of Center to rest Noah more during the regular season, Dougie Fresh because Butler can guard both 2s and 3s so you have a shooter next to a defensive stopper, Austin to have a big who can hit jumpshots of Rose’s drives which is basically what we are paying Boozer to do right now.

2nd Rd- Ryan Kelly, Brandon Paul, Michael Snear= Kelly to be a stretch 4 and hope he can be a poor man’s Steve Novak, an athletic scoring 2 and a defensive 2 as possible options to go with.

1st Rd (but probably will not declare this year)- Stauskas and McGary= I think Stauskas could really help his stock by staying and getting a bigger offensive role next year. I think McGary stays too, but if one of them decides to come out, I’d love to see them fall to us in the late first round like Teague did last year (as a talented player who would have been drafted higher if he stayed in school)

[r377Participant]

Not sure if they have enough assets but they could try and land Marshon Brooks or JLamb in a trade…

[shonu44Participant]

The Bulls should go after a guy that can create his own shot and shoots for others. That’s eliminate Bazz. They also need need a guy that can play multi position. The guy that will fit right in the system is Hill from Arizona. Hill is a guy that can do all the things the bulls need. Create his own shot and create for others. Hill also can play multi positions.

[JoeWolf1]

There are a lot of good options for a backup center in the 2nd round this year. Although, I think Okafor would be a great signing to backup Noah, I think getting a young guy for cheap would be a good draft too, as well as some insurance going forward if he pans out.

Kenny Kadji, Alex Oriakhi, and Mike Muscala are all players I feel that will be 10 year backups, that will be available from 40-60 in the draft. The Bulls have a guy in Gibson who can play some C in small lineups, but Nazr Mohammed is one of the oldest players in the league and I think a free agent and a 2nd round pick, they could bring up and down from the D-League during year one, would be a great way to address this depth.

Don’t forget the Bulls have Nikola Mirotic as well, I don’t think it would hurt to get a more NBA ready guy in the 1st round as opposed to rolling the dice on a project. I think KCP would be ideal because he is a little more than a project as far as being able to play fairly soon, but is also a guy who can get a lot better.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

So I suggest the Bulls start drafting high upside players instead of the safe picks in the late 1st-early 2nd (Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson) that they usually do. I had a couple names but you can add to it:

G/F Ricky Ledo, Archie Goodwin, Rodney Williams
F/C Luca Nogueira, CJ Leslie, Isaiah Austin

No. First of all, taking a good player is far better than taking one who cannot help you. Marques Teague is not a high upside player. He cannot shoot and has no clue how to play in the halfcourt, which means he is fast. The problem is that fast alone is not the same as having upside. The goal is not to get more guys like Marques Teague, it is to get guys who can help them. Most likely, a guy who can ultimately be the 3rd, 4th, or 5th best player on a champion will not be there. Most likely, if they find a couple functional guys who can be locked into inexpensive deals for four years is the best they can hope for out of this draft.

Archie Goodwin can’t shoot and turns the ball over a lot. If the Bulls are already coming off the bench with Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, they cannot take another non-center who is capable of going 7-38 from the college 3 in SEC play. The same goes for Rodney Williams. C.J. Leslie not only can’t shoot, but also would never get past Jimmy Butler or Taj Gibson at the 3 or 4. He is the classic power forward in a body of a small forward, and I just don’t see where the perceived upside comes from. What is going to help him have a more successful career than Al-Farouq Aminu? Lucas Noguiera is an 11 minute per game backup in Spain and is as raw as they come. He is not strong, skilled, or really all that athletic. Most of his value comes from the fact that a team can keep him overseas for a number of years in the hope that he actually becomes a decent player. Isaiah Austin has the problem of perception not matching the product. Yes, everyone knows he is too slight to function in the paint against Big Twelve big men and ran out to the perimeter. The problem is that while he takes the shots he has not been a good shooter from mid-range or the arc. How does he help you? I think they need a scoring 2. I don’t think Caldwell-Pope will be there, though he would be great. Scott Howard-Cooper of nba.com reported that people close to Sergey Karasev will not declare this year. He would be ideal because he is 6′ 8″, can shoot, handle, pass, and has the added benefit of being a player coming out of Eastern Europe who learned to speak English as a child. P.J. Hairston, Reggie Bullock, Will Clyburn would be nice options as two-way wings. It is not the greatest draft in which to find a backup center. Gorgui Dieng is intriguing. While he has gotten better every year, he still is not that good offensively, but he would be a useful body to keep Noah, Boozer, and/or Gibson from racking up 40 minute + games. I want to see where Adreian Payne measures out. If he comes out at his listed 6’10” with an MSU reported 7’1″ wingspan and weights 260 lbs, he might be a big get (and most likely well off the board).

[Author]

Posts