NBA Draft: Bulls Want a Combo Guard; Could Run a Dual Point Guard Offense
By Josh Hill
If you’ve watched the Bulls at all over the pas two seasons you’ll have seen they had a glaring need: a secondary shooter to compliment Derrick Rose. Now if you’ve been watching the Pre-Draft Combine you’ll see that the Bulls are looking to fill that hole.
So far the Bulls have shown an intense interest in combo guards in the Combine thus far with extensive workouts with Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham, Xavier’s Tu Holloway and Kentucky’s Doron Lamb.
“They said they’re looking for athletic combo guards.” Cunningham said. “I feel I can help them.”
Chicago had their draft plans violently altered with 1:20 left to go in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference opening round playoffs when Derrick Rose brutally tore his ACL and effectively ended the Bulls 2012 season. Now the Bulls need to plan for an immediate future without their MVP and it’s looking like Bulls brass are going to dip into the draft to patch themselves up.
But it could end up being a blessing in disguise. Prior to Rose’s injury it appeared (and made most logical sense) that the Bulls would go for a true shooting guard to add scoring stability next to Rose. But now Chicago is looking for a guy that can fill in for Rose during the first half of the season and can then slide over to shooting guard when Rose returns.
This then leaves the potential for a powerful backcourt consisting of two deadly shooters who can both handle the ball excellently. It’s the NBA equivalent to running a dual back system in the NFL with two elite runners. We’ve seen glimpses of this system in the NBA particularly in Minnesota where the Timberwolves had just one shooting guard (Wes Johnson) on roster all season long and ran two point guards for a majority of the season.
Doron Lamb indicated to the media that the Bulls are looking to do this exact thing.
“They told me they’re looking for a backup point guard and shooter and someone who can play right away.”
There was also a report Thursday that the Bulls aren’t expected to pick up C.J. Watson’s option and there is a really good chance that the options of Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer aren’t picked up either as the Bulls have made no indications to their camps that they will be doing so anytime soon.
This not only opens up some cash to throw Omer Asik’s way but it causes a chasm at the point as Rose would be the only point guard on roster. C.J. Watson isn’t healthy either as he’s struggling with plantar fasciitis which bodes well to the theory that he’ll be cut.
Chicago could very well use a draft pick at 29th overall to fix two problems with one player. If the Bulls do indeed pursue a veteran point guard in free agency like Steve Nash or Andre Miller, the Bulls would be able to run a system of two point guards at once with all three potential options being very viable scoring options.
However any pre-draft excitement is tainted heavily by the fact that the Bulls pick at the bottom of the first round and can’t at all predict who will fall to them. The Bulls 29th overall selection in the first round is their only draft pick in 2012.
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