Snell’s hooked on emulating Pippen

Here are a couple of quick observations about Bulls first-round draft pick Tony Snell:

He’s tall, long and lanky. He stood nearly 6-feet-8 when introduced Monday at the Berto Center, with arms that hang well below his waist. He also needs to put on at least 20 pounds.

At the same time, Snell demonstrated he has good taste in role models when asked if he styled his game after anyone.

“I follow Scottie Pippen,” Snell said. “He’s kind of like my same height and same wingspan. I try to watch his game.”

That was convenient, since Pippen was in the gym watching the news conference.

“I met him today. Hall of Famer, it’s pretty great,” Snell added.

Snell is something of a late bloomer in basketball, so the Bulls expect continued improvement. He averaged 12.4 points last season as a junior at New Mexico. He’ll begin play with the Bulls’ summer league squad on July 13 in Las Vegas.

Murphy knows Noah:Since he played at Florida, second-round pick Erik Murphy was asked about the Bulls#146; resident ex-Gator, Joakim Noah.#147;I think he might have the highest motor in the NBA,#148; Murphy said of Noah. #147;When he came back to school, you see the way he works and you see the way he plays, it#146;s definitely an inspiration. It gets you going a little bit. When you play with him or play against him, it brings that out in you, because you have to stay at that level to compete with him.#148;When Noah was drafted in 2007, he told reporters no one had more fun in college than he did. What about Murphy#146;s experience in Gainesville, Fla.? Did it rank in the top 10?#147;(Noah) probably had more fun,#148; Murphy said with a laugh. #147;He won two national championships, so that helps. Florida#146;s a fun school and it#146;s hard not to have fun.#148;Bulls want Nazr back:The free agent negotiating period began Sunday night. Bulls general manager Gar Forman said he touched based with Marco Belinelli and Nate Robinson, but it#146;s too early in the process to know the chances of keeping either player.Forman also expressed interest in bringing back veteran center Nazr Mohammed.#147;We really like Nazr,#148; Forman said. #147;I think he#146;s great in our locker room, I think he#146;s great on the practice floor and I think he was very good in games, especially late in the year. We talked to Nazr and I think we#146;re optimistic that he#146;ll return.#148;With limited funds, the Bulls figure to cast a wide net while pursuing free agents. Simply put, the higher the demand, the less chance a player has of landing with the Bulls.Bull horns:Besides Tony Snell, Erik Murphy and veterans Marquis Teague and Malcolm Thomas, the Bulls#146; summer league team is expected to include guard Andrew Goudelock, who was D-League MVP last season and has also played with the Lakers. Former Syracuse guard Andy Rautins is also on the team and was at the Berto Center on Monday. #133; Former Bulls guard C.J. Watson reportedly agreed to join the Indiana Pacers. Watson played for Brooklyn last season.