Gibson's wingspan impresses Forman
It's funny how Gar Forman, in his first draft as Bulls general manager, ended up selecting a player who was coached by Tim Floyd in college. Forman worked with Floyd at Iowa State and the two joined the Bulls at roughly the same time in 1998.
Actually, Forman and John Paxson have the same working relationship they did the past few years, so this draft can't be credited to any one person.
Whatever the case, the Bulls ended up with long-armed USC forward Taj Gibson with the No. 26 pick. At the predraft camp, Gibson measured 6-feet-10 with a 7-4 wingspan.
Forman talked about Gibson's defensive abilities, citing an example from the Pac-10 championship game when Arizona State twice ran a high screen-and-roll for James Harden with a chance to win the game and both times, Gibson switched onto the No. 3 pick of the draft.
"(Gibson) was able to stay in front of him off the dribble and then contest the shot with his length," Forman said. "We really, really liked his versatility defensively. For a guy 6-10 with a 7-4 wingspan, he can really move his feet and he's a committed defender."
Trades roll in: The NBA was struck by a sudden spate of high-profile trades. First, Shaquille O'Neal was sent on a mission to win a title with LeBron James late Wednesday night. Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and a second-round draft pick moved from Cleveland to Phoenix.
Then on Thursday, Orlando acquired Vince Carter from New Jersey for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie.
There was also talk that Phoenix could send Amare Stoudemire to Golden State, and redirect Wallace to New Orleans for ex-Bulls center Tyson Chandler.
The Bulls pursued Stoudemire when he was briefly on the market in February, but are not involved in any serious discussions at the moment. Gar Forman acknowledged that he did have conversations with the Suns.
Rose joins USA camp: Bulls guard Derrick Rose will join 25 young NBA players at a USA Basketball minicamp, which runs from July 22-25 in Las Vegas and will be capped by an intrasquad game.
Among the other players invited to participate is No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin and Rose's fellow rookies O.J. Mayo, Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and D.J. Augustin. Other notables are Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy and Danny Granger.
Bull horns: The Bulls will wait until Monday to introduce their two draft picks, after the Cubs-White Sox series is over. - Joakim Noah was at the Berto Center on draft night.