It’s clear now that the Chicago Bulls were drafting for the Golden State Warriors in the second round when they traded Oregon center Jordan Bell. But, if the plan was to buy low on another big, why not deepen your scouting and just keep Bell?
It’s over and done with for the Chicago Bulls in the trade that saw them acquire diamond-in-the-rough prospect “Cash Considerations” from the Golden State Warriors for intriguing big man Jordan Bell.
Back in June during the draft, the Bulls drafted Jordan Bell at No. 38 overall and there were a ton of things going through the minds of those that follow the Bulls closely.
“The Bulls actually made a good draft pick!” “Wait, the Bulls actually used a second-round pick!” “Jordan Bell is a good pick! He was great at Oregon defensively!”
And then, about 30 seconds later, Bell was a Warrior after the reigning champions jumped up in the second round again — like they did to acquire guard Patrick McCaw — and the best team in the league got even better.
Why is this being brought up again? Well, the Bulls just signed former Maryland center Diamond Stone to a partially-guaranteed two-year contract on late Wednesday night, bringing another question to the light: why didn’t the Bulls just keep Bell in the fold for the rotation up front?
Remember, per Paxson, the Bulls sold the Bell pick because they weren't interested in adding another big to the team https://t.co/dMXCeFysj8
— Mark K (@mkhoops) September 14, 2017
There’s a couple things of note here:
- The Bulls took Lauri Markkanen at No. 7 overall earlier in the draft. With Markkanen in the fold and assuming Nikola Mirotic is back, that’s Markkanen, Mirotic, Bobby Portis, the newly-re-signed Cristiano Felicio and Robin Lopez all up front.
- Once again, the Bulls were drafting for the Warriors in this spot. The Dubs gave the Bulls the max cash an NBA team can trade for in a season: $3.5 million. Surely, the notoriously frugal front office of the Bulls wasn’t turning that down.
- Also, here’s a thought: “If a team is willingly pay all of their cash considerations for a full year out for one draft-night trade, wouldn’t you think about maybe keeping the pick?”
- After trading their best player and franchise centerpiece in Jimmy Butler earlier in the night, the Bulls yet again traded away a second-round pick to help start their rebuild.
So of course, Bell looked like the do-it-all big man he was becoming during his later days at Oregon for the Warriors in the Las Vegas Summer League. In the SummerDubs’ third game in Vegas, Bell recorded a “5×5 game” with five points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five steals and six blocks. Bell averaged two steals and 2.6 blocks per game in five games out in Vegas.
It’s probably safe to say that he Bulls were never really considering taking Bell at No. 38 for themselves, especially with their post-draft comments after the trade. If the Bulls were really in play for Bell, they probably don’t trade him, especially when their front court depth doesn’t exactly strike fear into teams on the defensive end of the floor.
It’s just a bit strange to see the Bulls sign Stone, who may actually turn out to be a fine player. Plus, he’s not going to be on a bad deal at all. He’s only 20 years old and has shown some promise in his G-League performances, so the Windy City Bulls will likely have a solid piece to develop there. It’s unlikely that Stone makes the Opening Night roster because of the depth up front already, especially if and when Mirotic returns officially.
The thing is, Bell was taken at No. 38. The current base rookie scales for draft picks at No. 30 ranges from $1.1 to $1.6 million over their rookie contracts in their first three seasons. Bell was taken eight picks after that, so obviously his contract wouldn’t be that big, especially after trading away Butler’s team-friendly deal.
Next: Glancing at the Bulls' point guard depth for this season
With Bell, things are different because of his defensive versatility. He may not score like Stone can, but with the Bulls’ young pieces already in place, neither one of them would be a main offensive option. That opens the door for Bell and his ability to guard multiple (if not every) positions on the floor. But once again, it’s less than likely that the Bulls were even looking at Bell to begin with.