Chicago Bulls: Revisiting every 38th overall pick in franchise history
Every 38th overall pick in Chicago Bulls franchise history: Daniel Gafford
One of the bigger losses for the Bulls at the trade deadline among the players that Karnisovas dealt out was the former Arkansas Razorbacks big man Daniel Gafford. The 6-foot-10 and 235-pound power forward/center Gafford was the 38th overall pick for GarPax and the Bulls in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft.
Karnisovas and the Bulls shipped off Gafford, along with former Boise State Broncos small forward Chandler Hutchison, to the Wizards at the deadline this season for the return of shooting guard/small forward Troy Brown Jr.
But Gafford was productive, mostly coming off the bench, for two different coaching regimes over the course of just under two seasons with the Bulls. Between his time with former head coach Jim Boylen and current head coach Billy Donovan, Gafford was one of the more efficient big men in the past two seasons.
In 74 games played with the Bulls since his rookie season, Gafford averaged 5.0 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks. And he also registered an impressive .160 win shares per 48 minutes and a 17.2 player efficiency rating. His production has only got better in his 18 games played since the deadline in the nation’s capital.
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The 2019 draft class looked like one that could serve as a landmark for the Bulls rebuild at the time. GarPax also selected the former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White seventh overall in the first round. But it hasn’t turned out thus far as many expected.
You could really only say that the other solid second-round picks after Gafford in the 2019 draft class were Terence Mann and Eric Paschall. Gafford was surely a good second-round pick for the Bulls at the time.