Chicago Bulls: 4 players who were traded too early
1. LaMarcus Aldridge, Power Forward
The last player on the list is the perfect example of Paxson making bad draft night trades when the franchise needed to hit on their picks. Former Trail Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge was shipped out from the Bulls just after they picked him second overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. Aldridge was sent out for a subpar return mostly that consisted of Tyrus Thomas.
A real question worth asking is what would’ve happened for the Bulls if they were able to keep the former Texas Longhorn big man Aldridge for the best of his years in the NBA. And he’s only now just adapting his game to the modern NBA. Given his extended range as a big man with the San Antonio Spurs, Aldridge could have more valuable standout years to come in the league.
In the season that was for Aldridge (his season is over despite the Spurs returning in the NBA’s “bubble” plan), he averaged 18.9 points per game, and 7.4 rebounds, while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. That nearly led to his eighth career NBA All-Star selection. He’s also racked up five All-NBA selections and 2006-07 All-Rookie Team honors.
Next. 3 modern scorers that compare closest to MJ. dark
If the Bulls had kept Aldridge around instead of trading him on draft night 2006, it’s hard to wonder if they still would get former superstar Chicago native point guard Derrick Rose in the 2008 draft. But that doesn’t takeaway from the fact that the Bulls front office still made a mistake in not keeping Aldridge around so long as beyond draft night 2006.