The Chicago Bulls built a dynasty largely through the NBA Draft, selecting players like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant who led them to six titles.
But the Bulls' hits outside of the first round have been few and far between, part of the reason they’ve failed to build sustained success since the Jordan era.
Finding talent in the second round or later is one of the keys to team building, as it allows you to get impact value for money and use resources elsewhere, which is why we see consistently good teams regularly finding talent outside of the lottery or first round.
The Bulls have some recent additions to their list to go along with two franchise greats.
Daniel Gafford: 2019, 38th pick
If Daniel Gafford is on your list of all-time anything, you know something went wrong, but here we are.
Gafford was chosen with the 38th pick in 2019, but was then traded in what turned out to be a horrible move for the Bulls. The 3-team deal saw Chicago taking back the worst player in Troy Brown Jr. while Gafford and Chandler Hutchinson went to the Wizards and Moe Wagner went to Boston.
Gafford went on to become a very good shot blocker who has elite efficiency around the rim, something the Bulls could certainly use right now.
He started for a Finals team in Dallas last season and his addition was credited with helping them get there.
Gafford mostly just dunks and blocks shots, but the Bulls gave up on him too soon and lost a starting-caliber big man for nothing.