There were five original picks of the Chicago Bulls in the 2000 NBA Draft that saw them whiff on every single one in what amounted to a horrid class.
In the 2000 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls were firmly in the process of trying to rebuild their franchise. From the ground-up, the Bulls had to figure out best how to replace the production of the likes of all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan, forward Scottie Pippen, and the rebounding machine Dennis Rodman.
The Bulls had to find a new direction, also under the same general manager that they had during the dynasty years in the 1990’s. That would make most NBA fans presume that the Bulls would have a quick bounce back since they had the same general manager that constructed maybe the best team in a single decade in the modern era of sports.
Jerry Krause was one of the most hated front office executives with any of the major professional sports teams in Chicago by the turn of the century, though. He had essentially forced the likes of Jordan, Rodman, Pippen, and head coach Phil Jackson out of the door in the Windy City. That’s why that 1997-98 famed Bulls team is now known as “The Last Dance”. There is that highly anticipated 10-part ESPN/ABC documentary series that is in the process of premiering parts three and four happening right now.
However, the 2000 NBA Draft was a big one for the Bulls rebuild at the time. They had a whopping six draft picks to use, and all of their original selections didn’t go as planned.
Now, we’re taking a look back at what the 2000 draft amounted to for the Bulls organization. This piece retroactively seeks out what happened to the Bulls original picks, not necessarily who they traded for after draft night. Any trades that happened right then on draft night do count in the Bulls favor, though.
Here’s a deeper look into how the Chicago Bulls had whiffed on all five of their original selections in the 2000 NBA Draft, under the direction of former general manager Jerry Krause.