Best and worst Bulls drafts

We all know the best Bulls draft. It may have been the best draft any team ever has had.

With the third pick in the 1984 draft, they reluctantly chose Michael Jordan.

Not that they weren’t pleased, but as general manager Rod Thorn said that June day as fans watched in the Hilton hotel ballroom, “We’ve taken a step in the right direction. Jordan isn’t going to turn this franchise around. I wouldn’t ask him to. I wouldn’t put that kind of pressure on him. He’s a very good offensive player, but not an overpowering offensive player.

“If we had our choice between [Sam] Bowie and Jordan, we still would have taken Jordan,”” said Thorn, now the New Jersey Nets’ general manager. “But [Akeem] Olajuwon was the big prize. We need a center. There wasn’t one there.”

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Jordan’s North Carolina coach, Dean Smith, likened Jordan to “more of a Sidney Moncrief type with outstanding defensive ability.”

No, this NBA talent evaluation is not an easy business. If they couldn’t see it in Jordan, how are they supposed to see it in anyone? Yet, it is what everyone expects. Be right.

Olajuwon, as Thorn said, was the prize of that draft and the Bulls did their part to get him, losing 14 of their last 15 games to try to get the worst record in the league.

So though the Bulls didn’t quite recognize it at the time, their 1984 draft was the best in team history and the one that put them on the path to greatness. It also may have been the first truly good draft by the Bulls, as the team’s draft history ranked as one of the poorest in league annals until then.

Best drafts

1984: Michael Jordan

Bulls “settle” for greatest player ever.

1987: Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant

Jerry Krause pulled off a coup by landing Pippen in a trade for draft pick Olden Polynice and then selecting Grant, two cornerstones of the future champs.

1999: Elton Brand, Ron Artest

With the first pick in a wide-open draft, the Bulls made the right choice by taking Brand over Steve Francis, Baron Davis and Lamar Odom. But trading Brand for the rights to Tyson Chandler led to Krause’s eventual dismissal. The Bulls also had the No. 16 pick in the first round and used it on the colorful and volatile Artest, who would later be known as Metta World Peace. Artest went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA, though only the first two of them were with the Bulls.

2008: Derrick Rose

Hard to believe now, but there was actually some controversy over whether the Bulls should take Rose or Michael Beasley.

1985: Charles Oakley

Even though Karl Malone went at No. 13 in 1985, Oakley was a solid choice and enabled the Bulls to deal him for the final championship piece, Bill Cartwright. Oakley was drafted at No. 9 by Cleveland, then traded to the Bulls for Keith Lee, whom the Bulls picked at No. 11, and second-year guard Ennis Whatley.

2004: Ben Gordon, Luol Deng

In one of John Paxson’s more productive draft days, the Bulls took Gordon with the No. 3 pick overall, then traded for Deng, who was drafted at No. 7 by Phoenix. The Suns received the Bulls’ No. 31 pick (Jackson Vroman) and a first-rounder in 2005, who turned out to be Nate Robinson.

2011: Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic

Twenty-nine players were picked – including Norris Cole by the Bulls at No. 28 – before Paxson grabbed Marquette swingman Butler with the 30th and final pick in the first round. Butler would become an All-Star in 2014-15. Side note: Cole was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a draft-day deal that brought the Bulls the rights to European star Mirotic.

1989: Stacey King, B.J. Armstrong

The Bulls had three No. 1 picks in 1989. King, who was rumored to be going No. 1 to Sacramento – Pervis Ellison did – fell to the Bulls at No. 6 in one of the poorest drafts in NBA history. King wasn’t what the Bulls expected and Tim Hardaway at No. 14 and Shawn Kemp at No. 17 were probably the best players. Armstrong, picked at No. 18, and King contributed to three Bulls titles. The Bulls also picked the forgettable Jeff Sanders at No. 20.

1990: Toni Kukoc

Without a first-round pick, Bulls were able to nab Kukoc early in Round 2. The Croatian-born big man, known as “The Waiter” for his ability to dish out assists, played 13 seasons in the NBA and was a member of three Bulls championship teams.

Worst drafts

2001: Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry

Custer had a good plan too. The trading of Brand and the selection of the high school kids sent the team into a spiral. Curry finally was traded to the Knicks before the 2005-06 season amid medical questions, and Chandler was dealt to the New Orleans Hornets the following summer in a symbolic break from the past and the way the Bulls once went awry.

1970: Jimmy Collins

It was not like the Bulls were the only ones having problems as the likes of Al Henry, John Valleley, John Hummer and Gary Freeman helped fill out the first round after Collins. But Collins had a tough time with coach Dick Motta, and Hall of Famers Calvin Murphy and Nate “Tiny” Archibald went at the top of the second round with the first round then 17 picks. Krause was then a Bulls scout and Motta used to yell, “That’s the guy who talked me out of Tiny Archibald” whenever he saw Krause, but Motta was in charge.

1980: Ronnie Lester

This pick came after he blew out his knee in the NCAA tournament. He probably would have been special but was never the same. The Bulls with the No. 4 pick took Kelvin Ransey and traded down, a Thorn specialty, to No. 10 for Lester and a future No. 1 the Bulls used the next season to trade up for Orlando Woolridge, who had a high-scoring though troubled time in Chicago. He was let go for the draft pick the Bulls would use for Stacey King.

1982: Quintin Dailey

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Some decent players went after him, such as Fat Lever, Sleepy Floyd, Paul Pressey and Ricky Pierce. But it was the public relations disaster of the era. Dailey had admitted to a rape in college and came to his opening news conference essentially unrepentant and then soon entered drug rehabilitation.

1983: Sidney Green, Ennis Whatley

You’re getting the idea why things were so bad when Jordan arrived. Green had a competent career and was a solid pro, though the Bulls passed on Dale Ellis, Jeff Malone and Derek Harper. And then they traded Mark Olberding for the rights to Whatley, who joined the drug group quickly, and went one pick ahead of Clyde Drexler. Of course, Portland passed on Jordan in 1984 because they had Drexler.

2006: Tyrus Thomas

The Bulls had the No. 2 pick and used it to select LaMarcus Aldridge. But they traded Aldridge – and a 2007 second-round pick – to Portland for Tyrus Thomas (drafted by the Blazers at No. 4) and second-year forward Viktor Khryapa.

1977: The astronaut draft

Tate Armstrong in the first round, and in the second round Mike Glenn and Steve Sheppard. Armstrong barely played in two seasons and was out of the NBA. Right after him came Tree Rollins, Brad Davis and Rickey Green, and right before Glenn came Norm Nixon.

1976: Scott May

May was picked No. 2 overall after John Lucas went No. 1 in a weak draft, though Adrian Dantley and Robert Parish were first-rounders and Alex English went in the second round.

2000: Marcus Fizer, Jamal Crawford, Dalibor Bagaric

To be fair, it wasn’t a great draft with Kenyon Martin and Stromile Swift on top. But for the Bulls, this was to be the turnaround season from the championship conclusion. They traded Toni Kukoc for the first-round pick that was used for Chris Mihm in a swap for Crawford. The Bulls also had three second-round picks – Nos. 32, 33 and 34 – and used them on A.J. Guyton, Jake Voskuhl and Khalid El-Amin.

1973: Kevin Kunnert

He was picked at No. 12, right before the Bullets took Illinois’ Nick Weatherspoon. It was the midst of another bizarre draft with the Bulls set to grab Illinois State’s Doug Collins in a trade with the 76ers for Cliff Ray and Bob Weiss. But Ray’s surgery killed the deal and Kunnert never played for the Bulls.

1972: Ralph Simpson

Picked right before Julius Erving. The Bulls had problems outbidding the ABA as it was signing underclassmen (1974 pick Maurice Lucas and 1969 selection Larry Cannon) and the NBA was waiting, and the Bulls were being outbid for the top players.