Since this is a Bulls' board, we might as well get going on what guys could factor into the fortunes of our Bulls in the future (not so much for us since the lottery days are gone). Here are my thoughts, though obviously the opinions of others factor into this.

Feel free to comment on any of these guys, or toss in some other guys you like/dislike.

1) Michael Beasley, K-State

I think when all is said and done, he's going to end up being #1, he has quite a few similarities to Kevin Durant (though not as polished). He's very athletic, can play inside or out, and has a very diverse offensive game. He's also already stronger than Durant, he's listed at 235. The things scouts worry about with him so far is his effort, especially on the defensive end. Still, he has immense talent, and I think teams will look past that when they have a chance to draft him, especially if/when he does well at K-State.

2) Derrick Rose, Memphis

He's the best PG prospect to come along in a while. He has great size at 6'4", is very athletic and strong, and is very tough to stop from driving. Not just a scorer either, he is a willing distributor with good court vision and a tenacious defender. He has the ability to dominate a game without lighting up the scoreboard. About the only complaints so far are that he's a streaky shooter, and has yet to develop a solid mid-range game. Still, he is definitely an elite prospect that has a decent chance of going #1 overall.

3) OJ Mayo, USC

Another big PG, though he's more of a scorer. He's more of a Gibert Arenas style guard, in that he can run the team but prefers to be a scorer. A solid athlete with an advanced scoring touch, so he can play both guard spots. A capable shooter that can kill you with his midrange game as well as driving. The pros will want him to show that he can be a true PG, though his NBA future isn't in jeapordy if he can't make the transition. There are also some attitude concerns, he had a few incidents in high school and has developed a reputation as a primadonna. His stock has dropped a bit as other guys in his class have emerged, but a solid year at USC will likely make people forget about all of that.

4) Darrell Arthur, Kansas

A long, athletic PF that can play in the post or stretch the defense with a solid mid-range jumper. He'll play a much bigger role for Kansas this year with Julian Wright leaving. He still has some developing to do though, he's probably not quite NBA ready at this point (though that can change as the year goes on). He needs to develop some more back to the basket skills and bulk up a little. He could also stand to improve his ball-handling a bit to be a bigger driving threat to complement his jumper. He'll also likely start the year a little rusty as he recovers from a stress fracture.

5) Eric Gordon, Indiana

An elite athlete and scorer. Gordon is built like a tank at 6'4" 220 and still displays great quickness. He can drive at will and will often finish with a thunderous dunk. He can also hit from outside with regularity and can finish off the drive or pull up from mid-range. On pure ability he can easily be higher on my list, but some scouts will inevitably worry about his position in the pros. So far he hasn't shown that he can be a pure PG, and at 6'4" he's undersized for a 2-guard. Still, with his athleticism and scoring ability he should be able to pull it off since he has a lot of the same assets as Dwayne Wade and Ben Gordon.


6) Chase Buddinger, Arizona

Chase is a long, athletic wing player with explosive leaping ability. Also is a dangerous shooter with serious range and a decent mid-range game. He's still learning a lot of the nuances of the game though, as he split his time between basketball and volleyball in high school (could have had a full scholarship in either sport). He needs to work on taking the ball to the basket and finishing, as he prefers to launch jumpers at this point. He also needs to bulk up, and can struggle against smaller, quicker guards defensively.

7) DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M

Has the raw ability to go in the top-3, maybe even #1. Jordan is an impressive athlete, and when you combine that with his 7'0" 240 frame that gives him considerable potential. Some have compared him to Dwight Howard. He'll eventually be a top-5 pick, the only question is whether or not it'll be this year. He has decent touch around the basket, but he still needs to develop his offensive repetoire.

8) Darren Collison, UCLA

Collison could go very high in the draft with a solid year. He's extremely quick and can really knock an opposing guard off their game with his defense. He's another guy that can do some damage on the drive, and has shown he can run the offense at any tempo. Though it's generally not considered a major strength, he was a deadly outside shooter last year. The biggest thing with him is size, though bulk more than height. He's a little over 6-feet tall with long arms, but he's only about 170, which makes durability on the next level a bit of an issue, as well as his ability to stand up to post ups or drives against stronger players.


9) Tywon Lawson, UNC

Though he definitely has lottery talent, his stock will flucuate a lot because of his size. He's listed at 5'11", but may be even shorter. Still, his ability is hard to ignore, he plays kind of like Mike Conley Jr. He's jet-quick and is dangerous on the drive. So far he has shown the ability to finish very well, though scouts will worry that he might get beat up a bit against NBA players. He has NBA range on his jumper, but he's streaky. Also, his mid-range game leaves something to be desired. Teams will also want to see him perform in a half court set (which could be a problem with the UNC secondary break).

10) Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

Really built up his hype with his play late in the year. Is absolutely huge (7'2", around 275) with a long reach. Has shown a nice touch around the basket and shot a ridiculous 67.1% from the floor last year. He probably would have been in this year's draft, except that he's pretty limited athletically. He's not very quick and doesn't get off the floor well. Though his size lets him get away without those assets, it does limit his ceiling a bit. There's some chance his stock will fall during the year, though with his size he can still physically dominate any college player.


Others to watch:

Brandon Rush, Kansas

Personally, I don't know why his buzz is so weak. He has good length, solid athleticism, he can shoot, and is a pretty solid defender. I guess teams would like to see him drive more, as he can get enamored with his outside shot (though he makes a lot of them). Obviously now his ACL surgery is an issue.

Hasheem Tabeet, UConn

Ridiculous package of size and athleticsm, but is still extremely raw. Has a total lack of offensive moves, and is very foul prone. He's still learning how to apply his physical gifts to the game. Could still crack the top-10 due to potential though.

Brook/Robin Lopez, Stanford

Both are athletic 7-footers that have shown some flashes, so obviously there's considerable NBA interest. Robin started out stronger but faded late, as Brook dominated several games late. Both will need to show continued development.

Jerryd Bayliss, Arizona

He's a solid athlete with good scoring ability, but he could need more than one year in college. A little bit of Daniel Gibson in him, in that he'll have to prove he can play PG to fufill his lottery potential.

Kevin Love, UCLA

A little bit like Spencer Hawes last year. Though not as tall, he's built at 6'9" 260, with advanced post moves and impressive passing ability. He can also dominate the glass with decent length and leaping ability, as well as good agility. Like Hawes though, his raw speed is a question mark, and he's better in a half court set.

Gerald Henderson/Kyle Singler, Duke

Henderson kind of seems like the guard version of Josh McRoberts from last year. He's a gifted athlete that is quick and explosive, and has also shown the ability to score well in the past. But he has yet to show that on the college level, and there are numerous other wing options at Duke with Nelson, Scheyer, Singler, King, and Smith that could theoretically limit his chances. Talent-wise he could be a high lottery pick, but he wouldn't be the first guy to stall/regress in their development at Duke. Singler is kind of similar. He's more of a SF, though he'll likely play as a small PF, much like Deng did when he was there. At 6'8" he has shown solid scoring ability inside and out, and is a pretty good athlete (okay, so maybe he fits in the McRoberts mold too). The question is if he can capitalize on that talent for a team with a deep depth chart on the wings.

-I strongly dislike Eric Gordon.

-Rose is gonna be an absolute monster, God it hurts that he got out of state, but this is not about recruiting.

-Besides the top guys I am a huge fan of your 8-10, love all of them.

-Big fan of Thabeet, obviously he is raw as fish but he could have a big year.

I should have known an Illini fan would say those first two.

Two more guys (who could be late first rounders) are Chris Lofton and Tyler Smith, both of Tennessee. Lofton is just lights out as a shooter and greatly improved his driving ability last year. He's on the small side (6'2''), so he'll probably never be a starting SG, but he could be a great 6th/7th man off the bench to light it up. As for Smith, he had a great Frosh year at Iowa last year, and in Bruce Pearl's run and gun system, he could be poised for a tremendous year. However, he's probably a year away since UT will be so deep this year with multiple scoring options: Lofton, both Smiths, Crews, and Chism are all guys that can put up 20 on any night.

Smith is too good to not earn PT. That was quite the pickup.

Oh, he'll definitely get PT. Probably start. I do think his scoring avg. will drop compared to last year's, though. However, he should still be able to fill up the stat sheet other ways.

Ya, no doubt. I misread your post a bit.

derrick rose is a stud. period.

I definitely left off some guys that could end up being fairly high picks, I just wrote about the guys you will probably see in the green room and a couple of other hot names. Tyler Smith definitely would have been on of my late-round sleepers with some upward mobility if I'd kept going. A few others (roughly in potential draft order):


Donte Green- Syracuse
Raymar Morgan- MSU
DaJuan Summers- Georgetown
Josh Carter- Texas A&M
Stanley Robinson- UConn
Earl Clark- Louisville
DJ Augustin- Texas
Chris Douglas-Roberts- Memphis
Malik Hairston- Oregon
Terrence Williams- Louisville



Another one I'm going to throw out as a potential Tyrus Thomas like fast riser is Marreese Speights from Florida. He obviously got buried on the depth chart with the kind of talent and experience that they had a Florida, but he already has an NBA body and is pretty athletic. Now that some playing time is going to open up, he has a real chance to shine.

Another guy I like but still needs a lot of work is AJ Price at UConn. He's not really a pro prospect right now, but he was a hell of a recruit that has had all kinds of problems (medical and disciplinary). His stats aren't anything special, but UConn's offense just seemed to flow so much better when he was in the game. With another year under Calhoun and with all the athletes around him, you never know, he could be this year's Darren Collison.

Man, it's scary how good this freshmen class has looked thus far.

Beasley has been an absolute monster, averaging 30 points and 20 boards so far. He might be better than Durant. Eric Gordon and OJ Mayo have been beasts as well, both are averaging well over 20 points per game. Plus Kosta Koufos looks like a solid scoring big man, Kevin Love is averaging about 20 and 11, Donte Green is averaging 19 and 8 with 3 blocks for Syracuse, JJ Hickson had two big games to start the year at NC State (about 26-10 with 2 blocks), Jared Bayliss has been impressive at Arizona, DeAndre Jordan is shooting an absurd 90% from the field, and Blake Griffin is doing some damage for Oklahoma.

That doesn't even count Derrick Rose, who honestly has kind of disappointed me so far. Sure, he's averaging in the high teens in scoring even after an off-night tonight, but he hasn't been the floor general I thought he'd be, with under 3 assists per game so far. He has been more of a pass-first player in the past, but he's taking a lot more shots right now.

The sad thing is with the way this team is playing, we might have a reason to pay attention to these kids

It wouldn't be so bad if the Bulls lost out and got a top 3 pick would it? Then we could get the big man in Beasley, bigger SG or real starting PG that we need. It wouldn't be so bad would it?

If we are going to miss the playoffs might as well go all out and a super high pick (none of the 7-10 pick garbage that may or may not pan out). Maybe make a trade involving Wallace & Tyrus to clear enough cap room (an possibly get another 1st round pick) to add one good/great free agent. Keep Deng, Gordon or both and then add some super sick young stud in the draft. Now that's a way to build a dynasty. The path we are on now definately doesn't have dynasty written all over it.

I'm praying that's the rout the Bulls take this year. I have no problem watching a pathetic team all year as long as we get a top 3 pick and clear a good chunk of cap room to make a run at this free agent class. In an even better world, someone on the Bulls (Deng or Gordon) will get a minor injury and miss a good chunk of time which will giving us even less of a chance to win while making his $ value go down even more for next year.

Well, none of the top-4 really fill any of those needs. Beasley is really more of a 3 on the next level, though he is a beast and is explosive enough that you make room for him. Eric Gordon is still a bit undersized at 6'4" though he is pretty strong and explosive, Mayo isn't a true point or a bigger 2-guard, and while Rose was supposed to be a true PG so far he has a meager 2.8/3 AST/TO ratio.

Beasley is one thing, and if Rose gets back to his old passing self I do like him a lot. I'm not so sure the other two are a whole lot better than Gordon though, at least in the short-term.


Edit- So of course right after I type that Rose has 12 assists against Austin Peay to boost his average to 4.3.

I know he's got the talent to be an absolute monster on the next level, I'd just like to see more games like that from him.

Yeah, wow, I never would have thought we'd be looking at guys who are projected to go in the lottery. I just hope we turn this thing around and make the playoffs even if it's as a late seed. I'd rather have that than be stuck at picking in the lottery, but like 12th or 13th, which would really suck. I feel like we could be dangerous if we can get it together and make the playoffs. We're really capable of beating any team in the East if we start playing like we can.

Now that these guys have some games under their belt, I'll re-do my list a bit...

1) Michael Beasley, PF, K-State

Looks to be on par with Durant as a prospect, arguably better. Not quite as good a long distance shooter as KD, but he's definitely stronger and a bigger threat inside, and might be a better athlete. Carmelo Anthony is a popular comparison. Scouts keep harping on his work ethic, but I find it hard to believe that he got that good offensively without putting in some serious practice time, though he does have a reputation for coasting through games, especially defensively.

2) Derek Rose, PG, Memphis

His AST/TO numbers don't show it right now, but he has serious ability and should be an elite PG in the future. Great quickness and size, defenders have a really hard time staying in front of him. With the style he's playing right now at Memphis he'd profile as more of a Tony Parker style style PG, but most experts say he's somewhere between Deron Williams (quicker, will probably rebound more but not as good from the outside yet) and Jason Kidd at his peak (better scorer, though probably not as many boards). He has to develop his passing a bit to get to that point, but he clearly has the ability.

3) Eric Gordon, SG, Indiana

He's just a ridiculous scorer. He can kill you from outside or take you off the dribble. If he were 6'6" or 6'7" he'd be in the conversation for #1, but he's closer to 6'4". Still, it's not hard to see him having a huge impact offensively. Scouts would like to see him improve his ball-handling and passing so they could project him as a PG, but teams don't exactly pass on guys that might score 25 a game.

4) Donte Green, SF, Syracuse

He's having a big-time impact at Syracuse with his scoring, rebounding, and shot-blocking. He's a long athletic forward that's playing the 4 in college but is really more of a SF. He's a good shooter that can also take the ball to the basket. He does get a bit enamored with his jumper though and makes defensive plays more because of his length and leaping ability than his effort. Probably profiles somewhere between Marvin Williams and Rudy Gay.

5) O.J. Mayo, SG, USC

Some teams won't like him because he generally acts/plays like a me-first player and his best profile is as a shoot-first PG. He doesn't quite have the prototypical size for a 2-guard, and doesn't really create enough for his teammates to be a PG. But man, can he score. He's a good finisher around the basket and is a good but streaky jump-shooter. Most would put his ceiling as somewhere between Ben Gordon and Gilbert Arenas right now. He's likely to be an impact scorer, but his stats could end up looking better than his overall impact on the team.

6) DeAndre Jordan, C, Texas A&M

I gotta admit, he's going to go higher than this if he comes out on pure potential. Athletically he's on par with Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire. He has great size and leaping ability. He's also REALLY raw though. He's an awful shooter, as shown by his 29.8 FT%. He also has basically no post moves and gets his points almost exclusively on dunks and put-backs. Because of that he has a tendency to disappear for long stretches, and that could get worse on the next level playing against guys closer to his size and ability. Still, his potential is staggering if he puts in the effort.

7) Marresse Speights, PF, Florida

He doesn't have the hype yet to be drafted this early, but he's definitely got the game to go this high, or possibly even a little higher. He was overshadowed last year by Noah and Horford, but he's really starting to come into his own. He's highly productive despite the fact that he has limited on-court experience, and is still only getting around 20 minutes a game. He has very good size for a PF (might be able to play C in a pinch), is a solid athlete, can finish around the basket, and is a capable defender. He's very similar to his former teammate Al Horford, and right now would be an absolute steal in the late lottery with several more raw players that are listed below projected to go ahead of him. Probably my favorite prospect in the draft.


8) Darrell Arthur, PF, Kansas

He's not as impressive on paper given his stress fracture in the summer and Kansas' absurd depth that limits his playing time, but the pros won't forget about him. Another good athlete with solid length. Decent finisher inside and can hit mid-range jumpers. The problem is he isn't really great at either at this point, making him a bit of a tweener. He could slide a bit as some of the sexier big man prospects listed below pass him up, especially since it'll be hard for him to put up dominant performaces that get people's attention until the NCAA tournament. It's hard to say how he projects right now, he's not the first athletic big guy that's not bulky enough for PF yet and not skilled enough to play SF, though he is more skilled than most. He might turn into David West, or he might join the host of long players that can't find a true position.

9) Brook Lopez, C, Stanford

The better of the two Lopez twins. You would have thought that his stock would drop considering he was suspended for the first semester, but that hasn't been the case. He already has a decent NBA body, though he does need to get a bit stronger. His biggest strength is on the offensive end, where he shows a pretty solid touch around the basket and can hit the mid-range jumper. He's a good but not great athlete, though he makes up for that with his size and offensive touch. He's a good defender, but is weak on the boards. He kind of reminds me of Spencer Hawes, only a bit quicker and bigger.

10) Chase Budinger, SG/SF, Arizona

He continues to show that he's an explosive leaper that can score, but he doesn't seem to have progressed much. He also has great size for a wing player and very good range on his jumper. He still needs some polish. His lateral quickness also is a little lacking. My best guess would be similar to Wally Sczcerbiak with much better athleticism.



Others to watch (roughly in order of draft potential):

Kosta Koufos, PF/C, Ohio State
Nicholas Batum, SF, Le Mans (France)
Roy Hibbert, C, Georgetown
Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma
Jerryd Bayliss, PG, Arizona
Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn
Earl Clark, SF, Louisville
Gerald Henderson, SG/SF, Duke
DJ Augustin, PG, Texas (size the only thing holding him back, would be 8th if he were about 6'2" instead of under 6-feet)
John Riek, C (HS player that could be draft eligible, EXTREMELY hard to predict)
Kevin Love, PF, UCLA
Ty Lawson, PG, UNC

So, from that list, it sounds like if I want a replacement for our Gordon, we need to wind up with a shot at Gordon/Mayo.

Well, sort of. If you're talking about getting a guy that can be an impact scorer/player right away, then yeah, you need to have a pretty poor record and/or get lucky to get one of Beasley/Gordon/Mayo/Rose. That's virtually always true though, it's pretty rare that you can get an instant-impact guy outside the top-5, after that they usually need more development or have some kind of flaw that hurts their cause. That said, Mayo might slip because of his playing style, there's a decent chance he's one of those guys that does as much harm as good on the next level.

If they trade Gordon they can get reasonable replacements with Batum, Budinger, or Bayliss (really a PG, but more of a scorer right now) in the latter half of the lottery, you just need to make sure you get someone that can score back for Ben so you're not counting on them to regularly be more than the 4th scoring option on the floor at any given time for the first year or two.

Chris Douglas-Roberts or Brandon Rush may fit that mold too, though I haven't really decided if I like Roberts or not yet. He scores a ton in college, but he relies heavily on scoring in the paint, which will be a lot harder on the next level. He's a streaky shooter as well. Both of those guys would be later picks anyways, unless things turn around pretty drastically (for the Bulls or for their draft stock) they aren't really likely options.

After another big game against Kansas tonight, I guess I better add Bill Walker, one of the most interesting prospects in the draft, to the list.

There's a reason I didn't have him on there before. At one point he was seen as a probable top-3 pick whatever year he came out, a powerful wing player with ridiculous leaping ability and a rapidly developing outside shot. He was compared to Vince Carter in his prime. That was before his senior year in high school though, and things went downhill from there. First, he was ruled inelgible for his senior season, with the high school board ruling that he had already earned enough credits to graduate. He ended up enrolling early at K-State and playing a few games, but then he tore his ACL. It was actually his second ACL tear, as he had one previously early in his high school career.

He fell off the radar a bit with major question marks about whether or not he still had NBA potential. However, as the year has gone on, he's improved his level of play. He's had two 30 point games this year and three more 20 point games, including two impressive showings against Texas A&M and Kansas (19 and 22 respectively). He's not quite the same player he once was, this year he's been relying on his jumper to produce points. He's become a pretty dangerous outside shooter, and his mid-range game has looked good as well. He can still finish inside and rebound pretty well, but he hasn't been as dangerous on the drive as he once was. It doesn't appear that he's totally back to 100% after the surgery yet.

The big question is still going to be the knee injury, mostly how it affects his athleticm. Will he ever totally regain his old form? If he does, he might be as talented as any player in the draft, possibly even Beasley. If he doesn't, a lot of people will question how effective he can be on the next level. His performaces against those two athletic, strong defensive teams that I mentioned earlier bode well, but his abilty to score when the jumpers aren't dropping would be a concern. He's probably a mid to late 1st round prospect right now, though if he keeps playing well and/or returns to his high-flying ways he could make his way back into the lottery. He's definitely an interesting prospect that may end up being a pretty good value for the team that drafts him.

I counted it up Sunday morning, and if the season ended then, the Bulls would have the #8 pick, before the lottery stuff. We could still end up with a good player after all.

I'm starting to lean towards trading the pick if we don't get lucky and snag Beasley or Rose.

I just don't see a whole lot of good fits for the Bulls. I don't really like any of the bigs enough to say we should add them to the log jam (I do like Speights personally and to a lesser extent Patrick Patterson, but they're not the kind of sure-fire stud that they has to be for the pick to make sense) and there aren't really any good big guards that fit our need.

Our best option would be to take a tweener guard that's a shoot first player, which is a problem for us right now with Gordon. Eric Gordon is a heck of a talent but you have to worry about his wrist now and he just hasn't looked as good of late (a lot less driving and more turnovers)and I dislike Mayo because he's a selfish player on the court that will kill you with the low FG%/high turnovers. I'm starting to like Bayless more because he's ultra-quick and can score on the drive or the jumper, but he's still 6'3" and profiles as a shoot-first PG, those kind of guys often struggle to fit in as a strong contributor on a good team.

I think I'm of the opinion that even if the Bulls got a good pick...it's hard for me to say that they should hold on to the pick, because, counting Wallace, they'll have 9 guys who either because of their contracts or because of their youth/draft status will require minutes and there won't be enough to go around. Wallace, Gordon, Deng, Hinrich, Thabo, Nocioni, Thomas, Noah, this year's pick. 10 if you toss in Joe Smith.

Unless someone walks...there just isn't enough minutes to go around for this squad. I think you have to try to package the pick with, let's say Gordon or Deng, to try to come up with a major upgrade at 1 position. Trade quantity for quality if you can find someone willing to move an all-star level player.

Well, that assumes we keep everyone. Someone's probably gotta go regardless, the only question is which guys and for whom/what. If you get Beasley you can easily move Nocioni and Smith for future picks/expiring contracts to open up minutes for him (that'd also give you another 10 a game or so for Tyrus and Noah to split), and if you move Gordon that opens up a ton of minutes for a PG/SG like Rose or one of those tweeners. Then of course there's Wallace, but he'd require taking a sizeable contract back. Really the only thing I doubt happens is Deng going to make room for another SF, when he's on the floor he's still easily their best/most well-rounded player. It'll also probably be tough to trade him for fair value at the end of the year. You don't really HAVE to deal the pick to make an exchange like that, though it would help matters.

My problem is how many of these guys are a definite upgrade where it'd make sense to dump these guys and go with the younger option rather than just trading the pick? Beasley is pretty obvious, he's a big time combo forward that creates mis-matches at either spot. Rose has a ton of talent and can easily be the next great PG. After that you get a lot of project/less than stellar bigs and those combo guards I mentioned. They all have ability, but then we basically get another Ben Gordon that may/may not be as productive right away. I guess you could argue that a cheaper version of Gordon would be a big plus with him due to get paid, but then again if it's a downgrade it kind of negates it. It really depends on what's out there in terms of deals.

How much does the Bulls draft theory change with the addition of Hughes, Simmons, and Gooden (assuming Shannon Brown is not back with an expiring contract)?

Well, it would depend on what we do with all these guys from here. Things actually got more murky after that deal...

Backcourt- One would assume that Hinrich and Thabo are around for the longhaul unless something amazing comes up. Then you've got Hughes and Gordon, and for now Duhon. I would assume we'll try to unload Hughes and/or Gordon, though moving the former could be tough, and Duhon will probably walk. As of right now there's really no room for anyone other than a project backup PG, but if you move Gordon you can definitely take a guard. I'd still hang on to Brown personally, he's not the kind of guy that's going to eat a ton of minutes and he has a ton of athleticism.

SF- Still have Deng and Nocioni, leaving basically no minutes. The latter could be moving at some point, but the guy would have to be either a combo forward or a swingman to get enough minutes.

Frontcourt- It got cleared up a little, but there's still really no room for a new guy up there. The Gooden/Noah/Thomas trio will split at least 75 of the minutes up front(in fact I'd guess more), and Noc playing PF some and Gray/Simmons will take most of what's left. Gooden could potentially be moved next year as a productive player with an expiring deal, but even then you've already got 4 young big men on the roster, so unless they get a stud (aren't really any of those unless you like Lopez a lot) or a project with potential (Jordan, though I'd rather take other guys) I doubt they go that route.

At least to my eyes...the deal sets up the Bulls to draft the best PG available...or to try to package that pick for a player.

The dilemma I have regarding the draft this year is that we already have a team full of good players. We just don't have that one superstar to put us over the hump, but that will be hard finding if we're picking in the 10-12th pick range. Right now, I think Michael Beasley will be an absolute stud for some team, and I'd do everything it takes to get him in the draft. It's time to be a little shrewd regarding our team b/c where it stands, we're not making it out of the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs at best.

I would not mind trading Gordon, Deng, and our 1st round pick for the #1 overall for us to get a chance to get a player like Beasley or Rose. I know people are afraid of getting younger and starting over b/c it seems like we've been doing that for 10 years now. But, sometimes you have to take a chance with some addition by subtraction. It would hurt losing players like that (and I'm a huge Deng fan), but if it got us the #1 pick, I'd do it.

A team of the following would look pretty darn good:
PG- Hinrich/Thabo/rookie
SG- Hughes/Thabo
SF- Beasley/Nocioni
PF- Gooden/Thomas
C- Noah/Gray

I just don't want to get stuck taking another "you get what you see" type of player. We have so many of those, and it's time for change.

This is all moot, however, if we can package some players and our #1 for a veteran star b/c I would rather not start young again. But, if this is the only viable option for landing a possible star, then I'll take that chance. Making the playoffs was fun and cute for awhile after all those 13-win seasons, but now that's not acceptable anymore. I want championships.

There is no doubt the Bulls need a bonified number one player to get over the top.

Lot more details in the article on Gordon in particular, but I thought this part was worth excerpting.

That is really interesting. Not the best company for those 2 guys to be with...

Yeah, neither of these guys are exactly efficient players, though that's to be expected from most freshmen. They both have a tendency to try to go 1-5 a lot and aren't terribly concerned with creating shots for others. They should both score quite a bit, but will take a lot of shots to get their, turn it over a fair amount, and not offer a whole lot else. Think Jamal Crawford with a few more turnovers (and probably a better jumper in Gordon's case).

That said, there's at least some expectation by most scouts that their shot selection and decision making will improve as they get older, making them more effective players. There still seems to be a fairly good chance that they'll be guys that put up nice stats on bad teams most of their careers though.

You can say the same thing about Jerryd Bayless for that matter. Granted I like him more because his percentages are good, he's more likely to handle the PG role, and he's getting very little help from a not so talented Arizona team (really only Bayless and Budinger are any good and Hill is kinda mediocre but forced to produce, Gordon is on a good Indiana team and Mayo has two other solid talents in Jefferson and Gibson as well as a couple other passable guards), but he also turns it over a lot and can try to force the issue too much.

What the hell, let's do this again (abbreviated commentary for repeat guys)

1) Michael Beasley

Still looks a lot like Carmelo Anthony.


2) Derek Rose

Stats aren't as ridiculous as some others, but he's got all the tools and could really break out in the tournament.


3) Brook Lopez

Has been extremely productive in the post. The only question is can he still dominate in the pros as a good but not great athlete?


4) Jerryd Bayless

He's extremely quick and can really score, both on the drive and from outside. To maximize his draft stock and potential he has to improve as a PG. He can handle the ball fairly well, but he needs more work at running the offense and distributing the ball. At Arizona he's mostly a scorer and creates for himself more than others right now. Some teams will definitely consider him as a SG, but as a true PG he has much more potential.


5) Blake Griffin

He may fit better in next year's draft, but he'll be a high pick if he comes out. He's a big, strong PF with good athleticism. He converts at a very high rate inside and is considered a Carlos Boozer type prospect. His post moves could use some more work though, and he's had some nagging knee injuries this year.

6) Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is one of the hotter names in the draft. He's a very good athlete with solid length that can be a factor on both ends of the floor. Right now he plays as an off-guard with Darren Collison running the point, but his future is at the PG spot. If scouts are convinced he can play the point in the near future, he'll go ahead of some of the other combo guards. Besides experience at the PG spot, he also could use a more reliable jumpshot.


7) Eric Gordon

He's really struggled more as the season has gone on. He's forcing things way too much, which is resulting in a lot of missed shots and turnovers. He's still putting up points, but an awful lot of them are coming at the line. He's still a great athlete with deep range, but he's looking a lot more erratic at this point. He needs a lot of work on his general decision making ability to improve his efficiency. He's also another guy that would be better served if he improved as a PG, though he'd still stick in the league as a SG.

8) OJ Mayo

Another good scorer that's kind of a tweener. He really dominates the ball, but looks for his own shot considerably more than trying to create for others. He's a good slasher, but is pretty streaky as a shooter. Like Gordon, refined decision making would greatly enhance his stock.

9) Anthony Randolph

He's quietly put up a pretty solid year with all of the other freshmen getting the attention. He a tall, lengthy player with impressive athleticism. He also has a pretty good face-up game and can hit mid-range jumpers. He's still a work in progress though. He's ridiculously thin and will probably never be a true banger in the post. He's also a bit of a tweener, and turns it over at a very high rate. He has a lot in common with Tyrus Thomas, only projects to be a more offensive-minded player like Chris Bosh.

10) DeAndre Jordan

Same old story with him. Definitely a work in progress, he hasn't even shown that he can dominate in college yet. Despite very good size and athleticism he just can't produce yet. Someone in the top-10 will still almost certainly take him though if he comes out because of physical tools.


Other guys to watch:

Danillo Galinari, SF, Italy
Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn
Nicholas Batum, SF, France
Darren Collison, PG, UCLA
DJ Augustin, PG, Texas
James Harden, SG, Arizona State
Kevin Love, PF, UCLA
Donte Green, SF, Syracuse
Marresse Speights, PF, Florida (still probably my favorite prospect, but scouts want to see him become more aggressive, defers to their other players an awful lot)

SI piece covering what to look for from a lot of the early to mid first round type peoples.

So, how much has Eric Gordon's stock fallen since Sampson imploded?

Some. He's still a virtual lock for the top-10, but he doesn't look like a probable top-5 pick anymore. His play has gone downhill a fair amount in conference play. Some of that might be because of his wrist injury, but he still has shown poor decision making and his shooting has been a bit off as well.

Sam Smith chimes in on who the Bulls may be looking @.

I think Stephen Curry has played himself into the lottery, if not top 5.

I wouldn't go that far. He will still have to prove he can handle the point b/c he's too small to be a SG. Or else he'll just be a poor-man's Ben Gordon.

Yeah, he's still only considered a borderline first rounder by most accounts because of his size. 6-foot-ish SG's don't generally fair too well, unless they're a super-freak like Allen Iverson. Curry's a hell of a scorer, but he's not THAT good. Until he shows some more lead guard abilities he's unfortunately going to get lumped in with guys like JamesOn Curry, even if skill-wise he's closer to Gordon (not as good a ball-handler, but similar scoring ability).

I got two players to watch for: Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley

Did not see that coming.