Bulls' draft needs probably won't change after trade
The Derrick Rose trade creates a vacancy in the Bulls' lineup, but they won't necessarily be looking at point guards with the No. 14 selection in Thursday's NBA Draft.
There are already two young point guards on the Bulls roster. They acquired second-year pro Jerian Grant from the New York Knicks on Wednesday in the Rose deal, and added former Detroit backup Spencer Dinwiddie recently for Cameron Bairstow.
So it doesn't seem likely the Bulls would take a flyer on Vanderbilt's Wade Baldwin or Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson, or trade up for Providence's Kris Dunn.
If the Bulls look for a new starting point guard, it will probably be a veteran free agent. Memphis' Mike Conley is the best available, with Jeremy Lin, Brandon Jennings, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Greivis Vasquez, Jarrett Jack and Garrett Temple among the others available.
When it come to the No. 14 pick, the Bulls have preferred choosing older players rather than young projects in the draft and it's worked reasonably well. Drafting a raw freshman tends to have two outcomes - either the player doesn't develop at all or by the time he improves enough to be an NBA contributor, he's on his second or third team.
Taking someone like Kentucky's Skal Labissiere or Michigan State's Deyonta Davis doesn't seem to be the Bulls style.
One player who might fit if he's still on the board is 6-7 small forward Timothe Luwawu from France, who is 21 years old.
Another that fits the mold is Baylor's 6-8 Taurean Prince. He's a versatile senior, similar to Toronto's Patrick Patterson, though maybe more of a small forward type. He's a decent defender, which could conceivably give the Bulls another option to use against LeBron James. In theory, Prince is the kind of guy who could contribute something right away.
A college freshman who might fit the Bulls' style is 6-5 Florida State shooting guard Malik Beasley. He's a good shooter and scorer who averaged 15.6 points last season and seems well-suited to a fast-paced style.
Trading up in the draft seems far-fetched. There was talk of Boston offering the No. 3 pick and Minnesota No. 5 for Jimmy Butler. But this is generally considered a two-player draft with LSU's Ben Simmons and Duke's Brandon Ingram at the top, so trading away an all-star for a lower pick doesn't make sense.
The Bulls have the No. 48 overall pick in the second round.
Mike McGraw's NBA mock draft
Team Player Ht Pos School/Country
1. Philadelphia Ben Simmons 6-10 SF LSU
2. L.A. Lakers Brandon Ingram 6-9 SF Duke
3. Boston Buddy Hield 6-5 SG Oklahoma
4. Phoenix Jaylen Brown 6-7 SF California
5. Minnesota Kris Dunn 6-5 PG Providence
6. New Orleans Dragan Bender 7-0 PF Bosnia
7. Denver Jamal Murray 6-4 SG Kentucky
8. Sacramento Marquese Chriss 6-10 PF Washington
9. Toronto Timothe Luwawu 6-7 SF France
10. Milwaukee Wade Baldwin 6-4 PG Vanderbilt
11. Orlando Henry Ellenson 6-10 PF Marquette
12. Atlanta Domantis Sabonis 6-10 C Gonzaga
13. Phoenix Jakob Poeltl 7-1 C Utah
14. Bulls Taurean Prince 6-8 SF Baylor
15. Denver Deyonta Davis 6-10 PF Michigan State
16. Boston Skal Labissiere 7-0 PF Kentucky
17. Memphis Malik Beasley 6-5 SG Florida State
18. Detroit Juan Hernangomez 6-9 PF Spain
19. Denver Malachi Richardson 6-6 SG Syracuse
20. Indiana Ivica Zubac 7-1 C Bosnia
21. Atlanta Furkan Korkmaz 6-7 SG Turkey
22. Charlotte Demetrius Jackson 6-1 PG Notre Dame
23. Boston Denzel Valentine 6-6 SF Michigan State
24. Philadelphia Dejounte Murray 6-5 PG Washington
25. L.A. Clippers Deandre Bembry 6-6 SF St. Joseph's
26. Philadelphia Thon Maker 7-1 PF Sudan
27. Toronto Cheick Diallo 6-9 PF Kansas
28. Phoenix Guerschon Yabusele 6-8 PF France
29. San Antonio Caris LeVert 6-7 SF Michigan
30. Golden State Brice Johnson 6-10 PF North Carolina