The Nikola Mirotic Thread Options

[ZoomSlowik]

The other main piece for the future that could give the Bulls a shot in the arm.

Some blurbs from Chad Ford before the actual draft pick.

On talent, Mirotic is a likely late lottery to mid-first round pick. But concerns about his contract abound. NBA scouts I spoke with believe it may be years before he can come to the NBA after he agreed to a long extension with Real Madrid that runs through 2016. He's a got a massive buyout on top of that.

Positives:

•Crafty forward
•Great size, length for his position
•Can play both the 3 and the 4
•Very good shooter with range on his jump shot
•Can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket
•Quick first step
•Excellent passer
•High basketball IQ, fundamentally sound
•Is an aggressive player on both ends of the ball
•Can defend multiple positions

Negatives:

•Lacks explosive athleticism
•Needs to add strength
•Not an elite rebounder
•Contract issues may keep him from playing in NBA soon

Draft Express Profile Link with a lot of good info/analysis

Lastly, a quick YouTube highlight clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_orUsMiW4XY&feature=fvst

[Jake]

I honestly think the Bulls need to look at getting young shot creators/shooters to man SG and SF, because Mirotic I think is the perfect weapon for Rose and fit for Noah, and I think Butler can be a great sixth man.

I feel like the Bulls have been building a "Roster Mk. II" around Rose, and it's this:

PG - Rose
SG - [Draftee]
SF - [Draftee]/Butler
PF - Mirotic/Gibson
C - Noah

The oldest players there would be Noah and Gibson...and they both have low NBA mileage on their legs.

The way to get that SG and SF is the Bobcats pick and trading up in drafts.

That looks like a really inexpensive roster...we could probably make a signing of a big name for one of those holes. Of course in the NBA the thought of having to draft two key starters/contributors is also a bit scary ... the draft seems like such a crap shoot. Not like baseball where almost nobody makes it, but not like football where almost every first rounder is fairly good. You oftentimes get a great player or a complete non-factor.

Yep, I remember.

And yeah, tickets are really reasonable. I really like the Forum as a venue and it's great being so close to Beale St. On a side note, I'm not sure if you know this, but interesting fact: The zip code that the FedEx Forum is technically located in was the poorest zip code in the nation about 10 years ago. With the arena and other downtown revitalization, they've come along way in improving that.

I like the area as well, and the Forum is a really great addition to an all too empty downtown. Since Chicago was my main exposure to a city before moving down here, I can certainly say that the Forum beats the UC as far as the area outside the stadium goes. Beale is great being right outside there, really adds to the buzz and the two feed off each other during the season. But beyond that it's eerie at times walking around on Main, etc and not seeing anyone or seeing all the empty storefronts. There is some really good infrastructure there and I hope it gets developed because the city needs it. I've watched games/played at AutoZone and it's a nice place as well. From what I hear though, like you said, this area has come a long way and there is still probably a good portion of the populace that remembers the dangerous downtown too well to really want to go there and invest there.

Since I am a tour guide at Rhodes, I can recite the completely unverified information on my part that the Beale/Forum zip code is the "safest" in the state and of course the Rhodes area code is the second safest in the metro area (do you like the subtle and arbitrary switch from statewide statistic to a local statistic? I'm well trained).