Chicago Bulls surprised that Portis was still available at No. 22
The Bulls may have surprised themselves by selecting Arkansas forward Bobby Portis in Thursday's NBA Draft.
Portis, 20, was expected to go higher in the draft, but when he was still available at No. 22, the Bulls decided to take a chance.
“We had him ranked as a late lottery pick going into the night,” Bulls general manager Gar Forman said. “The last couple days, we talked about other guys more, because we didn't think he would be there.”
But the Bulls spend all winter scouting players, so they watched Portis plenty of times and felt he was the obvious choice at No. 22. Head coach Fred Hoiberg said the vote was unanimous in the Bulls draft room.
“He's a guy we think really fits our team and the makeup of our team,” Forman said. “We've had people just rave about his work ethic, how hard he plays, his makeup, his character. We really like his game. He's a big that can play inside and outside. He's got some skill. As a 20-year-old sophomore, we feel he's a guy with a lot of potential to get better.”
The 6-foot-11 Portis posted some good numbers during two years at Arkansas. Last season, he averaged 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds, while shooting 54 percent from the field overall and 74 percent from the foul line.
The Little Rock native isn't an explosive jumper, but he has long arms (7-2 wingspan), good feet on defense and has confidence in his faceup jumper. Among the knocks on Portis are that he's a better at sneaking in for offensive rebounds than boxing out opponents on the defensive boards. His overall speed and athleticism would be another question.
Portis gave a self scouting report when he spoke to reporters in Brooklyn after being selected.
“Low-maintenance guy, high character. I'm a guy that's always won everywhere,” Portis said. “I didn't win a national championship in college, but I got my team farther than they've been in nine years. In high school, I won four state championships. I'm just a winner, so I think I can just bring a winning culture to the franchise.”
Portis has a good feel for Chicago. He's represented by Chicago-based agent Mark Bartelstein and spent the past two months living in the city, working out with Wisconsin's Sam Dekker to prepare for the draft.
“I've been in Arkansas for 20 years and I think it'll be a big step for me to move out of Arkansas, but that's something that all kids have to deal with,” Portis said.
Last December, Portis played a game at Iowa State against Hoiberg, his new coach with the Bulls. Portis finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds, hitting 8 of 10 shots from the field.
“First and foremost, he moves very well for a kid that size,” Hoiberg said. “He's over 6-10, he runs the floor extremely well. He's good in the pick-and-roll. The thing I'm excited about is his ability to play all over the floor. Against us, he hit 6 shots pretty much all from the perimeter against us. So he's a real versatile kid.”
It's too soon to think the addition of Portis means the Bulls will look to move Taj Gibson. For one thing, the Bulls will want to get a closer look at Portis before making such a decision, and Gibson's market value is low right now since he just had left ankle surgery and may not be ready for the start of training camp.
• The Bulls announced the return of Pete Myers as an assistant coach Thursday. Myers spent 10 seasons on the Bulls' bench from 2001-10, along with a couple years as a scout. Myers was an assistant at Golden State under Mark Jackson from 2011-14.
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Bobby Portis
Ht.: 6-11; Wt: 246
Pos: PF; Age: 20
College: Arkansas
Hometown: Little Rock
Quick bio: Named SEC player of the year as a sophomore. ... Averaged 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds last season, while shooting 54 percent from the field. ... Best game was 32 points against Vanderbilt. ... Strengths are chasing offensive rebounds, shooting the faceup jumper and movement on defense. ... Had 19 points and 8 rebounds against his new coach, Fred Hoiberg, when Arkansas lost at Iowa State last December. ... AAU coach was former Arkansas star Corliss Williamson.