5. Matt Bonner, Power Forward/Center
A name that you probably forgot about since the Bulls picked him 45th overall in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft out of the Florida Gators basketball program is the 6-foot-10 and and 235 pound big man Matt Bonner. Making his name famous under head coach Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs, Bonner actually had a rather long NBA career.
The Bulls actually traded Bonner to the Toronto Raptors on draft night 2003 just after they selected him, in what turned out to be a deal for Chris Duhon. Those are two often forgotten names nowadays from the 2000’s and early 2010’s.
Bonner was one of the true early stretch big men of the 2000’s and 2010’s. He won two NBA Championships in his career and averaged 5.8 points per game while shooting better than 41 percent from beyond the arc. Some of the advanced numbers he had were solid too, with a 1.0 box plus/minus rating, 58.5 true shooting percentage, and .138 win shares per 48 minutes.
4. James Johnson, Forward
A name that isn’t as often forgotten as the likes of Bonner or Duhon is a current 6-foot-7 small forward/power forward of the Timberwolves, James Johnson. The former Wake Forest Demon Deacon was selected by the Bulls 16th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft. Unlike some of the other names on this list, though, he would play a few seasons in Chicago.
Johnson played his first two seasons in the NBA with the Bulls. But those two regular seasons in the Windy City would only amount to less than 82 total games played. Most of the success he’s found in his career came with the Raptors and Heat in the last six years. He’s got a career box plus/minus rating of 0.8, roughly 25 win shares, and a 9.3 value over replacement player rating.
Ironically Johnson was traded to the Raptors in 2011 for the pick that the Bulls used on Cole. Neither of the two would either play any, or limited, games in a Bulls uniform.