9 DAYS TO GO, DRAFTING 9TH
9th Overall: Chicago Bulls
Last year Chicago drafted LaMarcus Aldridge and Rodney Carney - neither played for the Bulls. This year they might again decide to draft a player that they'll end up trading.
Even though the Bulls have a solid back-court of Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Chris Duhon - Chicago worked out Mike Conley Jr. Saturday. This might mean Bulls GM John Paxson could draft Conley and deal Gordon or Duhon or both. The Courier News reported on Monday, "if the Bulls opt for a more traditional point guard by drafting Ohio State's Mike Conley, it could pave the way for the move of Hinrich to off guard, which would reduce the demands on him as a floor leader. In turn, Gordon could be expendable in a trade for an inside scorer."
Since Atlanta, Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee all need a point guard, Mike Conley's stock has risen - it is speculated that he won't be around at 9. The Bulls are no longer known as babies after sweeping the Heat from the playoffs, but they are still one star away from having a shot at the title. Before the February trade deadline, the Bulls were trying to trade for Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol.
If the Bulls have any thoughts of bringing in a Kobe, KG or Pau type player, they will have to give up Thomas, Deng, Gordon or Duhon if not all four. A trade could open up more playing time for last year's 13th overall pick Thabo Sefolosha.
If the Bulls decide to keep their pick and use it - they should draft Julian Wright. Wright is the type of player, like Deron Williams or Chris Bosh, who have obvious NBA game while playing in college, but have little hype coming into the draft. DraftExpress.com has the 76ers taking Wright at 12th and NBADraft.net actually has him going 9th to the Bulls. Julian Wright's shooting ability was overlooked during his time in Lawrence. It has been reported that Wright has shown good range. Wright, who only shot a total of three 3's in all of last season, has been shooting well from NBA 3-point range during work-outs.
Before the so-called draft experts decide what the general population should think about each player, I personally thought that Wright was comparable to Brandan Wright (predicted to go as high as 3rd). I would not be surprised if NBA GM's take Wright in the top 10. His off the court personality makes him an easy player to draft. Wright has a great attitude, is very coachable, polite and respectful. If the Bulls decide to keep the 9th pick and Conley's not available, choosing Julian Wright could turn out to be a great decision.
Other players that the Bulls could possibly choose are Spencer Hawes the 19 year old 7 footer from Washington. They'll use Hawes to replace minutes lost on veteran P.J. Brown. DraftExpress has international sensation Yi Jianlian going 9th to the Bulls, but my feeling that he won't be around by the time Chicago drafts. Joakim Noah has been running his mouth recently and if his stock falls, the Bulls would get a steal drafting Noah. Josh McRoberts could also be an interesting pick for the Bulls. He fits their needs (6'10", 240) as a scoring big man, but no mock drafts have McRoberts in the top 10. Stay tuned from Wednesday's: 8 Days To Go, Drafting 8th.
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