Hoops4theSoul

Jun

25

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down for Bulls Draft Picks

Filed Under On This Day . . ., Analysis/Commentary, NBA, Chicago Bulls, Loose Balls

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James Johnson Taj Gibson DeJuan Blair I’m going to be completely honest with you.

I was hoping that Tyler Hansbrough was going to be there for the Chicago Bulls to take with their first draft pick in the first round during tonight’s NBA Draft.

I know, I know.

Everyone hates Hansbrough, a stroke who was praised to death in college and is limited athletically.

Still, the kid is a hard worker and very skilled player who can hit a mid-range jumper.

I believe he will have a productive career as an energy player off the bench.

With that said, I can more than live with the Bulls’ selection of James Johnson at pick 16.

While other candidates like Hansbrough, Earl Clark, Gerald Henderson and Terrence Williams were off the board, the Bulls still had several options at 16.

While I was afraid they would go with B.J. Mullens, they didn’t blow it here.

Give credit to the Bulls, who made a good pick in Johnson, the best available player at this spot.

While not as well-known as some of the other players already mentioned, Johnson was very impressive this past season at Wake Forest.

A versatile player who can score around the rim, step out and hit the three, and defend multiple positions, Johnson gives the Bulls another athlete to run the floor with Derrick Rose in the future.

And he brings some more toughness as an accomplished kick boxer and notorious trash talker.

According to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo!Sports, Johnson used to talk so much trash to current NBA star and former Wake Forest All-American Chris Paul during summer pickup games at the school that Paul allegedly told his New Orleans Hornets not to pick the kid.

That’s awesome to hear. Sure, Paul is one of the best players in the game, but he can be a punk on the court.

It’s cool to hear that Johnson isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone, which should not be that surprising considering his Mixed Martial Arts background.

With all this aside, the most important thing is that Johnson can play and has some serious talent.

Of all of Wake’s talented players last year, it was Johnson and his versatility that impressed me more than anything that point guard Jeff Teague or power forward Al-Farouq Aminu could do.

While I don’t expect Johnson to be much of a contributor next year, he will at least put pressure on the yo-yo that is Tyrus Thomas, a player with all of the physical tools in the world but the lack of competitive greatness to be a consistent player in the NBA.

Where credit is due to the Bulls and new General Manager Gar Foreman for making the smart move on Johnson, criticism is warranted for the selection of USC forward Taj Gibson at #26.

Despite what the Bulls have said about being surprised that Gibson was still there, he was a bit of a reach at this point in the draft.

While Gibson is a hard worker who showed flashes at USC, he wasn’t consistent enough in my opinion for a guy who was much older than a lot of the players he was going against. Gibson is already 24 years old, a dinosaur for an NBA rookie.

What’s disappointing about the Gibson selection is that Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair — a guy the Bulls could have gone with at 16 and been happy — was still available at 26.

While only 6-6 and having a history of knee problems, Blair was a beast in college as a scoring machine and rebounder around the rim.

Remember when he threw tonight’s second-overall pick Hasheem Thabeet all over the court earlier this year.

Along with Johnson, Blair would have added more toughness to the Bulls.

While Blair did fall to the 40s, he found a great fit: the San Antonio Spurs.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Blair starts for the Spurs next to Tim Duncan at times next year, with Duncan guarding the opposing center and Blair the power forward.

At this point of the draft, Blair would have been worth the gamble despite concerns about his height and knees rather than picking a guy in Gibson who will be another wasted pick in my opinion.

Essentially, the Bulls traded Thabo Sefalosha — a lengthy, defensive guard who never got a fair shot to develop in Chicago but could have been a nice complement next to Rose and Ben Gordon (if BG7 re-signs and comes off the bench) — for Gibson, a guy they probably could have had in the second round.

A buddy of mine compared the Gibson selection to the Renaldo Balkman reach from a couple of years ago, and he’s absolutely right. This was a reach and a dumb pick by the Bulls.

It does little to ease my concerns about Foreman, who came to the Bulls along with the useless Tim Floyd and ended up picking a former player of whom else but Tim Floyd.

That’s not a good sign. BFF doesn’t equate well in the NBA. Just ask Floyd and former Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause.

Sure, Blair may never pan out in the NBA, but the Bulls would have looked like kings if they pulled Johnson and him off in the draft.

Unfortunately, what should have been a no-brainer in Blair wasn’t and brings up some bad memories when Floyd was Head Coach and the bumbling, stumbling Krause was passing on Michael Redd for A.J. Guyton, Khalid El-Amin and Jake Voskhul in 2000 and Gilbert Arenas in 2001 for Trenton Hassell.

By no means am I saying that Blair will be a Redd or Arenas in terms of production, but he’s just another very good college player that the Bulls passed on.

My disappointment aside, I will root for Gibson because I want the Bulls to succeed.

But something with this pick makes me wonder what they’re doing at the Berto Center at times?

Speaking of another frustrating development with team management, what happens if the Bulls don’t sign Gordon?

Their depth at guard is going to be atrocious. John Salmons will have to slide over to the two and Kirk Hinrich will come off the bench if Gordon leaves.

It would be crazy to say that the Bulls are better off with another big man in Gibson rather than Sefalosha, especially if the unappreciated Gordon does bolt (which I’m expecting).

All in all, what could have been a great night for the Bulls was an OK one.

Foreman showed some savvy with his first pick and some bias with his second pick.

I’ll forgive him for passing on Blair if he is able to sign Gordon, but that’s not going to happen.

BG has had enough of negotiating with the Bulls and is going to Detroit, in my opinion.

But that’s a story for a couple of days, I’m guessing.

Coming tomorrow: NBA Draft Grades

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