Bulls Draft Picks: Better than Adding a Vet, Grab Flyers from the Second Round
With this made-up projection, the Bulls have two first-round picks (their own projected 14th pick and at least a top-10 pick off a possible Jimmy Butler trade) this summer, GarPax still have one second rounder to fill out the roster. The Bulls might want to round out their roster with flyers in the 2nd.
Looking at the Chicago Bulls current roster from a Hoiball-build point of view, anyone who is a bad fit for Fred Hoiberg is looking to go. Jerry Reinsdorf already has issued instructions for the Bulls front office to take “aggressive measures” to make changes; indicating a retooling fix rather than a total rebuild.
We’ve already taken a look at possible scenarios for player trades, given recent rumors and actual offers by other teams for Butler like the Boston Celtics. The Minnesota Timberwolves possibly wanting to get Thibodeau’s preferred players, along with receiving the top-10 pick from Sacramento without waiting for another year.
The Boston trade scenario guarantees one additional first round pick: the 16th from Dallas. A trade could maybe lead to additional second-rounders, depending on how bad Ainge wants to get his proto-championship core together. Taj Gibson is fair game too, given that he was shopped around for a wing, but GarPax insisted on an additional first-round pick for any exchange (before the draft deadline).
There’s also the possibility of more of Cristiano Felicio and Bobby Portis becoming a permanent tandem of the Hoiball rotation for plenty of big buddy defense and rebounding and no more of last year’s brouhaha with vet starters in the front line grinding their bodies into the injury list.
However, if the Bulls don’t trade with Boston and deal with another team, who would the team prioritize as under-the-radar second-round picks who fit the system and allow the core players to blossom or fill holes left by whoever the Bulls ship out?
Bulls Draft Picks: Second-Round Pickings
The Bulls can pick Iowa State forward Georges Niang outright in the second round as Hoiberg’s top player in college as the wing scoring backup for the best fit rounding out the roster. Niang is like a Joakim Noah small forward; instinctive passing, less athletic than Noah, but a better post offense option who can moonlight in some of Hoiball’s mismatch-inducing movement traps in the paint.
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Unlike Butler, Niang decides what to do and the ball does not get stuck with him for half the shot clock before something happens. As part of the Bulls bench, Niang would be heads above opposing bench counterparts and Hoiberg is assured of being deeper at the wing player position for offense, which is always a good thing for pace-and-space gun-out games.
Niang fills a hole on offense if Butler and even Tony Snell get moved for players who fit Hoiberg’s faster game.
The Bulls might prioritize in a combo guard with passing ability like Marcus Paige from the University of North Carolina. Grabbing Paige is like having a second E’Twaun Moore on the team; a catch-and-shoot guard, who can also hold on his own on defense and is capable of the instinctive passing required for lethal Hoiball sets.
UNC was successful at breaking down zone defenses with Paige touch passing to teamamte Brice Johnson for rim rattlers. Hoiberg will want those lightning passes going on with Felicio, Portis and Joakim Noah if Paige is on board. If Moore decides to cash in, the Bulls can grab Paige as insurance.
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He is described by Draft Express as someone “who plays with poise and patience and has advanced handles” to keep the ball safe. UNC plays a fast-paced game, so he fits right in as someone who passes to the run-out player and crosses half-court under three seconds.
If the Bulls get these two, they need to get a flyer for an additional second-rounder. It may be cheaper for the team than signing some free agent veteran for a one-year tour of duty and if injuries hit the team, a younger player might be a better fit for keeping a fast-paced game. Bulls draft picks might offer a long-term solution that works better for the kind of system Hoiberg is running.
Would anyone seriously value Courtney Lee, Gerald Green or Arron Afflalo over Paige, Caris Levert, Wayne Selden Jr. or projects like Alex Poythress if they become available via second-round flyers (buying rights outright from teams selling their second-rounders)?
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The aforementioned free agent vets may already be downhill talent even if they are vets, while any Bulls draft picks will still have upside and could develop nicely.
A second-round pick can be signed to a long-term contract and be more inclined to play harder to make the rotation, rather than a veteran picked up for a one-year tour who most likely will pad stats and hog the ball like Aaron Brooks did last season.
The Bulls have been frequently on the losing end of veteran sign-ups like Hakim Warrick, John Salmons, Marco Belinelli and Nate Robinson. These players may have had good games but once their tour was over, holes appeared in the rotation that could not be filled outright. Building via the draft the way the San Antonio Spurs have successfully done over the past 16 (or so) years should give GarPax a heads up on the higher value of choosing the best kids to wean into Hoiberg’s system, rather than just plugging holes for a while.
DeAndre Jordan, Manu Ginobili, Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, Isiah Thomas, Trevor Ariza, Hassan Whiteside, Khris Middleton, Goran Dragic, Draymond Green, and Marc Gasol are all starters for their respective NBA teams and all of them have one thing in common: they were drafted from the second round.
After the Bulls grab their preferred rotation players in the first round (with this projection’s two first-rounders), it might be a smart move for the front office to pore over every player available in the second round and even undrafted kids who might round out the roster and over time, become a future asset. Justin Holiday was an undrafted player in 2011 and Cristiano Felicio proved to be a future rotation player in limited action.
Although the attrition rate of second-round picks is also high because of the fact that playing minutes are limited and everyone coming out needs to get a feel for the NBA game over time, Hoiberg’s system may guarantee a better chance of using everyone on the team. If Hoiberg makes the same mistake of playing his best players like Thibodeau, he grinds them into fatigue, injuries and loses another season.
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With fresh legs and dependable talent from Bulls draft picks, Hoiberg’s team should survive a rigorous 82-game season of outscoring teams on a nightly basis.