Delon Wright drives over rival team Oregon. The Chicago Bulls have the 22nd pick tomorrow night in the NBA Draft. We know that Towns, Okafor and Russell are likely to go top 3, but who should the Bulls target at 22? Various mock drafts and experts have the Bulls either selecting Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or Delon Wright. Personally I think the Bulls should try to make a move with Joakim Noah in order to possibly move up and get a higher draft pick (Top 10), but with such a deep and talented draft staying put at 22 seems like the best move.
Chi Sports Daily Selection** Delon Wright (Utah, PG) averaged 14.7, 5 and 5 his senior year at Utah. The Bulls had a plethora of different backup point guards under Thibs that all seemed to play above their potential (Nate Robinson, CJ Watson, Kirk Hinrich, Aaron Brooks, John Lucas), but with Hinrich hitting his senior years and Brooks becoming a free agent solidifying a backup point guard for Derrick is prominent. A positive for Wright will be the chance to learn from Derrick and improve right away, while guys like Nate and CJ who are veterans with different skill sets basically already had their ceilings built for them. To sum it up, Delon Wright would be a fantastic edition on the defensive end as well as being a very effective passer and playmaker. His jumper is weak, but he should be able to be counted on to come in off the bench and show his strengths.
Rondae Hollins-Jefferson (Arizona, SF) averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season for Arizona. On a team filled with offensive talent, Hollins-Jefferson really shined on the defensive end. With already a stellar defensive core in place for the Bulls, RHJ would provide tremendous defensive help alongside Jimmy Butler (Assuming he re-signs). Now I don’t want to get carried away, but Jimmy could possibly get to sit a couple minutes against the Cavs with a solid defender like RHJ willing and able to give LeBron some problems. The Bulls do still lack in scoring, so going with a defensive mind in this draft could be risky. RHJ’s offensive skills are not completely polished and there is most certainly room for improvement, but the idea of coming in and giving the Bulls some help on the defensive end right away is for sure worth exploring even with the lack of scoring.
Other possible names that have been thrown into the mix:
RJ Hunter (PG/SG Georgia State)
Justin Anderson (SG Virginia)
Fantasy***
Gar Forman and John Paxson trade Noah, this years 1st round pick and next years to the Sixers and then draft D’angelo Russell. Rose Russell Jimmy Taj Pau =Rings. Also in this fantasy we sign D-Wade and he comes in and wins 6th man of the year. Niko contributes off the bench and McDermott actually plays a role in the offense. Hoiberg wins coach of the year and Rose and Jimmy share the MVP.
-Andrew Zoldan
