The Bulls own the 25th pick and are represented by: Christopher Gattuso. With the 25th pick in the draft the Chicago Bulls select: Rex Walters, SG, 6-3, Kansas ========================================================================== Team Needs Regardless of a three-peat, the Chicago Bulls will be rebuilding in the next year. Jerry Krause will finally do some house cleaning and replace the veterans with some youth. The Bulls finished with a 57-25 record, and were considered a disappointment. The team didn't play well in the regular season, but has shown they still have the ability to kick it up a notch in the playoffs. The Bulls have a strong nucleus, they just need to surround the veteran with youth. Center: Cartright is all but done. His knees are aching, and have reached the point that he needs help getting out of his car. I believe the Bulls will buy out his last year and let him retire gracefully. Where does that leave us???? Will Perdue and Stacey King. Perdue has shown some signs of being a decent center, but he can only play well against the pure big men. A center like Pervis Ellison or Mr. Robinson seem to beat him on the first step. King has been a bust, but during the playoffs he has shown some life. Next year, Kings contract jumps to $2 million a year. He could be traded....why??? Because if traded, it would only count for $800,000 under the salary cap. In short, the Bulls need either a free agent or keep Perdue and King. Power forward: Horace Grant becomes an unrestricted free agent in 94-95. Look for the Bulls to sign him to an extension for big bucks. Again, by signing an extension it will keep his salary for the cap low. Grant has played very well this year. He has had nagging injuries, but those will clear up in the off-season. Grant, in the past, has claimed favoritism to Jordan and Pippen, and has felt the Bulls haven't given him the respect he has deserved. If the Bulls come up with BIG bucks, look for him to sign. Scott Williams has played well as his backup. William will come in and give you 10-15 minutes of HARD basketball, and he will use ALL his fouls!!!! (the same problem he had in college) If he could reduce the fouls, he could be a big player next year. Another scenario, has the Bulls trading King or Perdue, moving Williams to center, and drafting a young power forward. This would also be insurance if Grant decides to leave Chicago. Small Forward: Scottie Pippen has emerged as a true superstar. Year after year, he has been forced to defend the fact. First, the migraines, then poor shooting....blah, blah, blah. Fact is, he is a star. First team, All- Defensive team, Dream Team, All-Star. Pippen has a very quick first step and drives extremely well to the hoop. Not many 6'8" forwards are asked to bring the ball up and run an offense. Pippen has one minor weakness....getting physical. X-man proved that last year. He has gained more courage, but it seems teams can take him out of his game by getting physical. Rodney McCray is a huge bust. He doesn't have an outside shot and could adjust to the triangle offense. He is gone next year. If the Bulls sign Toni Kukoc (which is almost a done deal), Toni would fill in great here. Kukoc is 6'10", but a tad on the skinny side. He has excellent passing skills, great shooting, and good defense. He can fill in at the 1, 2, or 3 positions. Kukoc will begin as the sixth man, but his role will increase as he adapt to the NBA. Shooting Guard: Michael Jordan...enough said. Developed his outside more and continues to amaze everyone. Shooting percentage was down to 48%, but his dunk total was also down. Starting to become a major three-point threat. Whoever backs up Micheal must able to play 10-15 quality minutes. This just wasn't present in 92-93. Trent Tucker, Darrell Walker, and a host of others just couldn't cut it. Again Kukoc could fill in here, or a free agent like Craig Ehlo, might fit in well. The shooting guard should be a good ball-handler (for the triangle offense) and good defensive skills. Also, attempting to develop a youngster behind MJ is quite difficult. Look for the Bulls to take a young veteran or attempt to further develop Corey Williams. Either way, some youth must be added to this position. Point Guard: This position caused some controversy in training game. Paxson was out early (knee surgury) and BJ Armstrong was asked to fill in. Some of the team grumbled that they couldn't rely on BJ for the open jumper. Paxson was reinserted, but his knee couldn't handle it. Back to BJ, and he responded. BJ finished as the best three-point shooter (percentage-wise) in the NBA. The corner threes are nearly automatic, and Jordan has obvious confidence in BJ...that is very important. This position is safe. I see BJ starting next year, with Paxson coming off the bench as the role player. Paxson, IMHO, has accepted his role on the Bulls. Summary: The Bull's biggest need is a big man, except this year's draft doesn't have many big men and with the 25th pick, we would never see them. So, look for the Bulls to go with a PF, SF, or SG. The Bulls will then have insurance for Horace leaving and more youth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our selection: Rex Walters - Kansas -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other possible moves: The lack of big men at the twenty-fifth pick, forces the Bulls to choose the "best available athlete". Look for the Bulls to sign someone like AC Green or a Robert Parrish to satisfy the C and PF positions. The Bulls will sign Toni Kukoc, this is all but completed. The main problem is the bevy of slow big men on the bench. It is time to clear out some of them. McCray, Tucker, Walker, and Nealy will be released. Cartwright will be bought out. The center position leaves us with King, Perdue, and Williams. Look for the Bulls to move King or Perdue for draft picks, or trinkets, or anything!!! Also, the Bulls will put more youth on the bench and attempt to develop them. Jerry Krause is determined to get a championship caliber team in place to off-set the blow of Jordan eventually retiring...good luck. The Bulls could attempt to trade up for a better quality player, but if the Bulls three-peat, no one will listen to them. ========================================================================== Draft Summary: 1. Orlando GM: Tom@Orlando Pick: Chris Webber, PF, 6-10. University of Michigan 2. Philadelphia GM: Dave Meeks Pick: Shawn Bradley, C, 7-7. BYU 3. Golden State GM's: Mike Moore Terry Wong Pick: Jamal Mashburn, SF, 6-8. Kentucky 4. Dallas GM: Curtis Hill Pick: Anfernee Hardaway, SG, 6-7, Memphis State 5. Minnesota GM's: Kevin Hansen Toni Morgan Pick: Calbert Cheaney, SF, 6-7. Indiana 6. Washington GM's: The Crossjammer Jim Nagle Pick: J.R. Rider, SG, 6-5, UNLV 7. Sacramento GM: TODD FURESZ Pick: Rodney Rogers, PF, 6-7, Wake Forest 8. Milwaukee GM's: Brian Saunders Morgan Edwards Pick: Malcolm Mackey, PF, 6-11, Georgia Tech 9. Denver GM's: John Exby Rick Grubin Pick: Ervin Johnson, PF, 6-11, New Orleans 10. Detroit (from Miami in John Sally trade) GM: Rob Skrobola Pick: Alan Houston, SG, 6-6, Tennessee 11. Detroit GM: Rob Skrobola Pick: Acie Earl, C, 6-10, Iowa 12. L.A. Lakers GM: Cliff Slaughterbeck Pick: Bobby Hurley, PG, 6-0, Duke 13. L.A. Clippers GM: Cliff Slaughterbeck Pick: Vin Baker, SF, 6-10, Hartford 14. Indiana GM: Doug Mraz Pick: Scott Burrell, SG, 6-7, UCONN 15. Atlanta GM: Kevin Metz Pick: Terry Dehere, SG, 6-4, Seton Hall 16. New Jersey GM: A. Borges Sugiyama Pick: Douglas Edwards, PF, 6-9, Florida State 17. Charlotte GM: Bren Bailey Pick: Chris Mills, SF, 6-6, Arizona 18. Utah GM: Michael Wendt Pick: George Lynch, SF, 6-7, North Carolina 19. Boston GM: Orin Day Pick: Greg Graham, SG, 6-4, Indiana 20. Charlotte (from San Antonio for J.R. Reid) GM: Bren Bailey Pick: Lindsey Hunter, PG, 6-2, Jackson State 21. Portland GM: Mike Northam Pick: Luther Wright, C, 7-2, Seton Hall 22. Cleveland GM's: W. Scott Klingensmith Brian Young Pick: Joe Harvell, SF, 6-7, Mississippi 23. Seattle GM: Christopher Beck Pick: Rodney Dobard, PF, 6-9, Florida State 24. Houston GM: Brian West Pick: Thomas Hill, SG, 6-5, Duke 25. Chicago GM: Christopher Gattuso Pick: Rex Walters, SG, 6-3, Kansas Next up: 26. Orlando (from NY in Mark Jackson, Stanley Roberts trade) GM Tom@Orlando