Fresno State's George sees opportunities with Bulls
Fresno State forward Paul George is more than ready to join the Bulls, but he has mixed emotions about the possibility of being joined by free agent LeBron James.
"He'll probably take almost all my minutes," George said with a laugh. "But we'd be winning, so I'd be cool with that."
George, a 6-foot-8 swingman, was one of the best talkers at the NBA's predraft camp media session on Thursday. He also has a decent chance of being chosen by the Bulls on June 24 if he's still on the board at No. 17.
"That would be a perfect pick," George said of the Bulls. "A young team, promising point guard, probably one of the most improved big men in the game. I think the sky would be the limit if I could come into this team and work hard. It would be something special."
While potential draft picks held workouts at Attack Athletics on the West Side, the prospects met the media at a downtown hotel. The swarm of Kentucky players (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, etc.) drew large crowds of reporters to their tables, but none seems likely to end up playing in Chicago.
Whether James signs or not, the Bulls could use an outside shooter. Another good interview was 6-7 Kansas freshman Xavier Henry, who shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range last season.
"They say I settled too much for the outside shots too much when I was playing at Kansas," Henry said. "When you throw it down to (center) Cole (Aldrich), he gets double-teamed every time. You're wide open."
Both George and Henry claimed they model their games after Atlanta guard Joe Johnson, a potential Bulls free-agent addition if James doesn't sign on.
"He's athletic, he plays defense, offense and doesn't do all the talking," Henry said of Johnson. "He goes about his business. That's kind of how I am. I don't do a lot of jawing back and forth."
Added George: "I think I could be one of those bigger guards and eventually be a superstar. I think I can be a shooting guard. I feel comfortable with the ball in my hands. Whatever team drafts me, I'm going to continue working with them. I think I'm a beast, just waiting to be unleashed."
If a shooting guard doesn't work out, the Bulls might consider adding another big man such as VCU's Larry Sanders, Georgia Tech's Gani Lawal, or Florida State's Solomon Alabi.
The soft-spoken Alabi grew up in Nigeria and didn't get serious about basketball until attending high school in Florida as a teenager.
"It's a little bit rough," Alabi said of Nigeria. "I came from a small town. No one knows about basketball, there are only a few people that play basketball in the town. When I started playing, I had to play in my sandals."
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