| BULLS DRAFT REPORT | 
      
        | The Bulls story is well known. Six championships in eight years led by the all-time
        greatest Michael Jordan with top
        50 sidekick Scottie Pippen. A
        cast of role players including Dennis Rodman (quite a conspicuous role player), Steve
        Kerr, Luc Longley, Jud Buechler
        etc. All gone along with Coach Phil Jackson. Resulting in the third worst record in the league and a miserable team. All of this was orchestrated and precipatated by General Manager Jerry Krause, one of the most unpopular men
        in Chicago. It's true that the Bulls dynasty could not have gone on forever, but it
        certainly could have continued for another year or two if Krause hadn't desired the
        premature breakup of the team. Well he got his wish and the crowds (on momentum from the
        championships if nothing else) continued to fill the United Center in Chicago. That is
        unlikely to continue for long, as any pre -Jordan Bulls fans like myself can attest. So
        now the question is how can the Bulls most quickly establish a decent team and eventually
        a playoff caliber squad.  It seems that Krause's grand scheme was to clear the
        maximum amount of salary cap room so he could go after premier free agents. The flaws in
        this strategy proved to be several. First the new collective bargaining agreement means
        that the free agent player can be signed for significantly more by his current team. Thus
        potential free agents like Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury,
        and Abdur-Rahim have all signed
        long-term deals and are not available. The free agents likely available are not a terrific
        group with players like Joe Smith,
        Mitch Richmond, and Terrell Brandon at the top of the class,
        although Penny Hardaway recently declared his intention to become a free agent. The other
        flaw was thinking that premier free agents would see the post Jordan Krause led Bulls as
        an attractive place to play.  So far Brent Barry is the only one to bite and he had quite an underwhelming season.  At this point if I had control of the team, I would fire
        Jerry Krause and offer Michael Jordan 50% ownership with the basketball control that
        George Shinn in Charlotte would not grant Jordan. From there you could start to rebuild
        the team by making wise draft choices, good trades for veterans, and picking off free
        agents who would want to play for a Jordan managed organization.  Failing such a radical move, the progress is likely to be
        slow. This year's draft presents no Tim Duncan type player and the free agent crop is
        unlikely to hold much promise. So the best strategy is to trade the top pick for a
        combination of additional picks and a veteran or two. Sign a steady free agent or two and
        hope that Tim Floyd becomes a decent NBA coach who can bring a team of overachievers close
        to .500 within a few years.  | 
      
        | Bulls Recent Draft History:  | 
      
        | The Bulls have been picking so low in recent years that
        they have gotten little out of the draft. Their last high pick was Stacy King and he never did much except a
        crucial shot or two the year they beat Portland for the NBA title. Their only significant long term contributors from the draft have been Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant (in a 1987 draft day deal with
        Seattle) eons ago and Toni Kukoc
        selected in the second round as a Euro wait-a-few-years player. Will Purdue has proven to
        be an adequate backup center. Of course the pick of Michael Jordan at #3 was done prior to
        the Jerry Krause era. B.J. Armstrong was a good player for the Bulls for a few years. But first round picks
        like Jeff Sanders, Mark Randall, Corey
        Blount, Dicky Simpkins, Brad Sellers, Keith Booth, Travis
        Knight (rights revoked) and Corey
        Benjamin have done nothing for the team.  | 
      
        | Bulls Current Team:  | 
      
        | The current Bulls team has holes at every position. Thus
        they need to get several good players out of the draft, either by selecting them or using
        a pick or two as trade bait for veterans | 
      
        | At Center:  | 
      
        | How does Bill Wennington, Andrew Lang,
        and Dicky Simpkins sound?
        Pathetic. Unfortunately there is no big man worthy of being selected as the #1 pick, so
        look for the Bulls to either make a trade for a big man or use #16 to select the best
        available big man. | 
      
        | At Forward:  | 
      
        | Mark Bryant and Dicky Simpkins are the power forwards and
        although Bryant put up some decent numbers on a garbage team he is not starting NBA power
        forward material. | 
      
        | Toni Kukoc and Kornel David play small forward and Kukoc is
        by far the most talented Bull, but he definitely fit better with other talented players
        (Jordan, Pippen) than he does as The Man. His shooting percentage was way off last year. .
        Keith Booth is in the mix at
        small forward/big guard but has not shown much. | 
      
        | At Guard:  | 
      
        | Brent Barry was signed to a
        large free agent contract and had a difficult time learning the triangle offense. While
        with the Clippers (which is not a very good way to measure a player's worth) he showed a
        great deal of offensive potential, but has never shown much defensive potential. Randy Brown had a nice year, but is strictly
        a role player. Ron Harper is
        getting older and would be better off providing veteran leadership for a playoff
        contender. The Bulls do not utilize a traditional point guard in their triangle offense. Corey Benjamin, last year's #1 selection, is
        still quite young and showed little capability of grasping the NBA game or the triangle
        offense. Cory Carr and Rusty LaRue are also on the roster, but
        offered little last year. | 
      
        | Conclusion:  | 
      
        | The Bulls are a team that is several players and several
        drafts away from being a playoff team, let alone returning to their championship glory. Their good fortune in getting the #1 pick is tempered by there
        being no standout can't miss player. It is generally acknowledged that Lamar Odom from Rhode Island, Steve Francis from Maryland, and Elton Brand of Duke are the top players in this year's
        draft. If the Bulls trade down (which I heartily recommend) they would be looking at Wally Szczerbiak of Miami of Ohio, or Corey Maggette of Duke (a Chicago native).  The rumors are that Toronto wants the top pick (to select
        Francis) but the Bulls want Tracy McGrady in that deal along with the #5 selection. Toronto is offering Doug Christie and their pick or picks (they
        also have #12). The latest rumor has Charlotte trading Anthony Mason to the Wizards for
        the #7 pick and then packaging that with their #3 pick to the Bulls for #1. I would make
        that deal in a minute. Then the Bulls would likely be able to get Brand at #3 and
        Szczerbiak or Maggette at #7.  | 
      
        | Draft Selection  | 
      
        | Given the restraint on trading in our mock draft, I
        concluded that Odom was the best pick for the Bulls. He is the most versatile and heady
        player who has the skills to grasp the triangle offense sooner rather than later. . The
        problem with Odom is that he plays a similar game to Toni Kukoc but on the Bulls as
        presently configured that is not likely to mean the difference between making the playoffs
        and not. Odom is a ballplayer who understands the game and has the size and temperant to
        become a winning player who makes others better. | 
      
        | Others Considered  | 
      
        | Francis was my other major consideration. He is a very
        explosive and entertaining player who could put some excitement into the United Center.
        But he is not likely to fill enough of the holes in the Bulls team presently. If I had
        selected him, it would have been with the intention of trading him, since 3 or 4 teams
        seem very eager to acquire him At the
        Bulls other first round pick (#16 - acquired from the Suns in the Longley trade) I
        envision taking the best available big man as the team has such obvious needs in that
        area.  |