As everybody knows the Bulls struck lottery gold last night, beating 1.7% odds of landing the top pick in the June Draft. Just like last year there are 2 major prospects, Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose, that John Paxson can’t wait to get his triple title-ringed hands on. A season removed from their most successful run since MJ owned United, this pick should pay immediate dividends for the Bulls getting back to the playoffs. Or, will it? Just some random musings…
-The Bulls can’t lose with the top pick. That is, unless their pick winds up needing some crazy season-ending microfracture surgery or something… knock on wood. Since neither Beasley nor Rose looks to be 21 going on 57, Bulls fans need not worry. After seeing the carnage CP3 and Deron Williams left behind during the playoffs, the Bulls would do just fine picking hometown boy Rose, who has the total game to join their ranks very soon. But adding Beasley in the frontcourt would probably help Bulls fans forget about all the former big men who’ve come in and stunk up the joint or gone elsewhere and improved their games over the years.
-When the camera panned on Steve Schanwald after the #9 envelope was opened, how disappointing was it not to see this guy? Schanwald was the epitome of corporate tool, flashing his tacky gold jewelry, mouth gaped and accepting the #1 pick with class.
Who didn’t want to see Jerry Krause slam the podium with joy when the Bulls initially moved up, have a mild heart attack during commercial break waiting for the final 3 envelopes, and then another when the Bulls finally won. Krause would have gone all Kanye in the studio, flashed a huge grin on his quadruple-chinned face, and made sure Mike D’Antoni felt his wrath.
-Including this year, the Chicago has been home to seven Top 5 picks in the last 10 drafts. SEVEN. That’s not just any lottery pick, that’s a ridiculous amount of very high drafts picks over the last decade. The good: Elton Brand (#1 in 1999). That’s it. Ben Gordon (#3 in '04) has worked out OK, but he’s no franchise player.
And the bad: Marcus Fizer (#4 in ’00)... Eddy Curry (#4 in ’01)... Jay Williams (#2 in 2002) but that was just an unfortunate incident for everybody involved. And LaMarcus Aldridge (#2 in 2006) who was shipped for Tyrus Thomas. Whoops. The jury's still out on Joakim Noah (#9 last year), but that's a ton of undeveloped frontcourt players who returned very little value for being such high picks.
