McGraw: Bulls will have plenty of wing players to pick from in NBA Draft
One bit of good news for the Chicago Bulls as they head into Thursday's NBA Draft is the team has multiple positions of need, so they can feel secure in choosing the best player available.
This year's draft class is heavy on small forward-types who might be able to complement Jimmy Butler, assuming he's not traded this summer. But there's a wide range of guys the Bulls need to sort out before making their selection at No. 14.
To start the draft, Philadelphia is widely expected to take LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons with the top pick, before the Los Angeles Lakers choose Duke's Brandon Ingram at No. 2.
After that, just about anything could happen. A couple guys who might be ideal for the Bulls are Oklahoma senior Buddy Hield, whose stats last season were reminiscent of another college super-scorer, Doug McDermott. Cal freshman Jaylen Brown has the size and athleticism to excel in the NBA.
But those guys will probably be gone by the eighth pick. A couple more expected to go high are Kentucky freshman Jamal Murray and a fast-riser, 6-10 freshman Marquese Chriss from Washington.
Chriss is an athletic marvel who can also shoot the 3-pointer. His high ceiling/low floor caused espn.com draft analyst Chad Ford to bring a comparison with a memorable Bulls draft pick.
"If he gets it and hits his ceiling, he should have gone No. 3 or No. 4 in this draft," Ford said in a recent conference call. "If he doesn't, he's going to make a team look bad like Tyrus Thomas made the Bulls look bad several years ago."
What about guys who might be there at No. 14? A couple of European players figure to get close looks - 6-7 Timothe Luwawu and 6-7 Furkan Korkmaz.
Luwawu is a native of Cannes, France, who played in Serbia last season. On video, he looks great attacking the basket and throwing down dunks in traffic. He also shot a reasonable 37 percent from 3-point range. He's considered something of a late bloomer, so he has some flaws to fix, but could help the Bulls gain some athleticism.
Korkmaz is young - he'll turn 19 in July - and played for one of the better teams in his native Turkey, so he didn't log many meaningful minutes last season. On video, he looks like a well-rounded two guard in the mold of Orlando's Evan Fournier.
Syracuse freshman Malachi Richardson is another mid-first-rounder in many mock drafts. He was probably headed for another year of college until scoring 23 points in the regional final against Virginia at the United Center. He's a long-armed shooting guard, but still a raw talent.
Among guys more suited for shooting guard, Florida State freshman Malik Beasley is an interesting prospect. He averaged 15.6 points as a freshman, and his dad, Michael, had a role in Season 3 of HBO's "Eastbound and Down" - he played one of the retired athlete regulars on the comedy series' "Sports Sesh" parody show.
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NBA Draft preview: Best available wings
Here's a glance at some of the top wing players available in Thursday's 2016 NBA Draft:
Ben Simmons, 6-9, Fr., LSU Australian has great skill set, expected to go No. 1
Brandon Ingram, 6-9, Fr., Duke His thin frame is reminiscent of NBA star Kevin Durant
Buddy Hield, 6-5, Sr., Oklahoma Best scorer in college basketball last season
Marquese Chriss, 6-10, Fr., Washington Great athleticism has him climbing in mock drafts
Jamal Murray, 6-5, Fr., Kentucky Solid scorer, could be another Bradley Beal-type
Jaylen Brown, 6-7, Fr., California He has the right mix of size and athleticism
Timothe Luwawu, 6-7, France Fast-rising 21-year-old played in Adriatic league last season
Furkan Korkmaz, 6-7, Turkey Nice skills, but at age 18 didn't play much in EuroLeague last year
Malik Beasley, 6-5, Fr., Florida St. Was a very efficient scorer as a freshman in ACC
Malachi Richardson, 6-6, Fr., Syracuse Not a great shooter, but his 7-foot wingspan is intriguing
DeJounte Murray, 6-5, Fr., Washington Didn't shoot well from 3, but might be able to play point guard
Denzel Valentine, 6-6, Sr., Michigan State Nice combo of scoring and passing, but athleticism is concern
Taurean Prince, 6-8, Sr., Baylor Late bloomer who reportedly grew 11 inches during high school
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