QUOTE
BULLS STAY PUT, GET SECOND OVERALL PICK
After the ping pong balls were finished bouncing, the Toronto Raptors emerged as the winners, with the plummeting Portland Trailblazers falling into the #4 slot, after having the best odds of winning the top pick in the NBA draft lottery.
The Chicago Bulls held serve, entering with the second best odds at the #1 pick, and they came out of the lottery with the second pick in the 2006 NBA draft. As has been the case for the last few months, speculation for the Bulls has centered on LSU 19 year old PF Tyrus Thomas, and Texas 6-11 C LeMarcus Aldridge. Mostly the Bulls have to sit and wait for the Raptors to decide what path they want to take, but logic would dictate that the best fit for Toronto is Aldridge, as they already have star PF Chris Bosh, and they like Charlie Villanueva as their future SF, which would leave the C spot wide open for Aldridge, giving the Raptors a tough, athletic, and young front line. This would leave Tyrus Thomas on the board for the Chicago Bulls with the #2 pick. Unfortunately the Bulls already have a player very similar to Thomas on their roster right now in Tyson Chandler. Both are very athletic plays, with long arms, great rebounding skills, and minimal offensive skills.
The other direction Bulls GM John Paxson could choose to go is to try to package the #2 pick and trade it for an established scoring big man to compliment the solid defenders the Bulls already possess in Chandler, Andres Nocioni, and Luol Deng. Al Harrington has all but begged to come to Chicago to play for the Bulls, who though undersized as a PF, would fill the Bulls need for a scorer on the frontline. A move like that would free up the Bulls to fill their need for a big guard, maybe allowing them to draft the player deemed most ready for the NBA today in Washington SG Brandon Roy, or it could also allow them to take a chance on Italy’s Andrea Bargnani, as a 7 foot big man with offensive skills on the perimeter has garnered the mandatory Dirk Nowitski comparisons.
Another distinct possibility is that the Toronto Raptors could trade out of the #1 pick and someone who is enamored with another player could jump in front of the Bulls, leaving Aldridge to drop to the Bulls and fill their greatest need going into the 2006-07 season. The Raptors are said to already be entertaining offers for their pick, and have needs in the backcourt, on top of possibly losing PG Mike James to free agency.
As of right now the lottery really didn’t answer many of the questions that Bulls have about who will be sporting their jersey next year. In fact this seems to have thrown a wrench into works, and turned up more questions than answers. The next couple of months should be interesting as we see how trades and free agency play out in Chicago and around the NBA as we approach the draft on June 28 from New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
After the ping pong balls were finished bouncing, the Toronto Raptors emerged as the winners, with the plummeting Portland Trailblazers falling into the #4 slot, after having the best odds of winning the top pick in the NBA draft lottery.
The Chicago Bulls held serve, entering with the second best odds at the #1 pick, and they came out of the lottery with the second pick in the 2006 NBA draft. As has been the case for the last few months, speculation for the Bulls has centered on LSU 19 year old PF Tyrus Thomas, and Texas 6-11 C LeMarcus Aldridge. Mostly the Bulls have to sit and wait for the Raptors to decide what path they want to take, but logic would dictate that the best fit for Toronto is Aldridge, as they already have star PF Chris Bosh, and they like Charlie Villanueva as their future SF, which would leave the C spot wide open for Aldridge, giving the Raptors a tough, athletic, and young front line. This would leave Tyrus Thomas on the board for the Chicago Bulls with the #2 pick. Unfortunately the Bulls already have a player very similar to Thomas on their roster right now in Tyson Chandler. Both are very athletic plays, with long arms, great rebounding skills, and minimal offensive skills.
The other direction Bulls GM John Paxson could choose to go is to try to package the #2 pick and trade it for an established scoring big man to compliment the solid defenders the Bulls already possess in Chandler, Andres Nocioni, and Luol Deng. Al Harrington has all but begged to come to Chicago to play for the Bulls, who though undersized as a PF, would fill the Bulls need for a scorer on the frontline. A move like that would free up the Bulls to fill their need for a big guard, maybe allowing them to draft the player deemed most ready for the NBA today in Washington SG Brandon Roy, or it could also allow them to take a chance on Italy’s Andrea Bargnani, as a 7 foot big man with offensive skills on the perimeter has garnered the mandatory Dirk Nowitski comparisons.
Another distinct possibility is that the Toronto Raptors could trade out of the #1 pick and someone who is enamored with another player could jump in front of the Bulls, leaving Aldridge to drop to the Bulls and fill their greatest need going into the 2006-07 season. The Raptors are said to already be entertaining offers for their pick, and have needs in the backcourt, on top of possibly losing PG Mike James to free agency.
As of right now the lottery really didn’t answer many of the questions that Bulls have about who will be sporting their jersey next year. In fact this seems to have thrown a wrench into works, and turned up more questions than answers. The next couple of months should be interesting as we see how trades and free agency play out in Chicago and around the NBA as we approach the draft on June 28 from New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
