Chicago Bulls: 5 best Jerry Krause draft picks ever

3. Elton Brand, Power Forward/Center

The final two solid draft picks that Krause had among Bulls big men before his time as general manager with the organization was done involved Artest/Metta World Peace and the long-time Los Angeles Clippers star center/power forward Elton Brand. With the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, the Bulls picked up the former Duke Blue Devils superstar big man Brand.

This ultra-talented 6-foot-9 and 275 pound big man and Cortlandt Manor, NY, native spent only two seasons in a Bulls uniform before Krause would deal him out to the Clippers. Following the 2000-01 season, the Bulls sent Brand to the Clippers for fellow big man Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner.

Not to say that Chandler didn’t have a long and established NBA career as a quality starting big man, but the Bulls likely gave up on Brand too soon. Drafting Brand and then trading him shortly thereafter was yet another constant mistake that Krause made where he didn’t buy into his draftees over the long haul.

During his lengthy NBA career where he played in over 1,000 regular season games, Brand raked in two All-Star selections, two All-NBA honors, one All-Rookie Team selection, and the 1999-00 Rookie of the Year award. He registered a career box plus/minus rating of 2.2, 37.3 value over replacement player rating, and nearly 110 total win shares.