There were two first round picks the Chicago Bulls had in the 2009 NBA Draft. The first went to a solid role player in the NBA for a while with small forward James Johnson. But there was only around a season and a half for Johnson in the Windy City before he was dealt to the Toronto Raptors. He is currently playing with the Heat and recovering from injury.
In the less than 80 games Johnson played in a Bulls uniform, he averaged 3.8 points per game and 1.9 rebounds. He didn’t get the chance to contribute a whole lot until he landed with the Raptors. The peak of his production really came with the Heat, who he is still with. He did get drafted in the thick of a number of quality NBA players that are still stars today.
Realistically, the Bulls should’ve gone with the best player available approach. But adding wing depth didn’t hurt all that much. It does now that the Bulls don’t have a quality starting point guard like the former UCLA Bruin Jrue Holiday on the roster.
Who the Bulls should’ve drafted: Jrue Holiday
Selecting the reliable power forward (now with the New York Knicks) Taj Gibson was great value for the Bulls in the latter portion of the 2009 NBA Draft. Gibson contributed for the Bulls for a long time and made an impact right away for this team out of three years with the USC Trojans basketball program.
There was a solid wing drafted right behind Gibson, with small forward DeMarre Carroll, but this pick shouldn’t be changed in Bulls draft history.