Proviso East’s Michael Finley was drafted 21st overall in the 1995 NBA, one spot after the Bulls selected Jason Caffey.
Associated Press
Close your eyes and dream, Bulls fans. The NBA draft starts tonight.
Or, better yet, maybe just close your eyes. This week’s edition of High Five looks at some dark and disappointing drafts for the Bulls.
With the help of veteran Daily Herald Bulls writer Mike McGraw, we present five of the worst draft decisions in team history.
First, some ideas. We did not include crossover drafts with the ABA and the NBA because the players drafted signed in one league or the other.
The drafts of the 1960s and early ’70s are out because, while the Bulls missed out on some great players, we don’t think they would have been enough of an upgrade over the teams of Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, Chet Walker and Bob Sees it. .
The drafts of the late ’70s and early ’80s are not here because the selections of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant made them irrelevant. Six titles cannot be questioned.
5. 2012, Marquis Teague over Draymond Green
Some may say the 2012 draft shouldn’t be here because the entire league overlooked Green, the fifth pick in the second round. But Teague was taken just six spots ahead of Green, who helped Golden State win four NBA titles and made four all-star teams.
Green has issues with fines and suspensions, but there is no doubting his talent. Teague, a point guard selected 29th overall by the Bulls, played in just 67 games over two seasons and averaged just over two points per game.
4. 2018, Wendell Carter Jr. over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Carter was a productive player for the Bulls in three seasons, averaging around 11 points and 8 rebounds before being traded in 2021 to Orlando.
But as the seventh overall pick, Carter’s experience wasn’t ideal. And now that Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as a superstar with Oklahoma City (he was runner-up in this year’s MVP race), the pick looks even worse.
Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted 11th overall by Charlotte and traded the same day to the Clippers, who traded him to Oklahoma City. The last two seasons he has averaged more than 30 points per game.
3. 2020, Patrick Williams on Tyrese Haliburton
The Bulls couldn’t afford to mess up the fourth overall pick, but it looks like they did. Patrick Williams checked a lot of boxes at the time, but his career just hasn’t panned out for some reason.
Haliburton was drafted 12th overall by Sacramento and traded to Indiana in his second season. With the Pacers he became a star who led the team to the Eastern Conference finals this season.
Haliburton averaged 20.7 points and 10.9 assists in 2023-24, which would have looked awfully good in a Bulls uniform.
2. 2006, Tyrus Thomas on LaMarcus Aldridge
The Bulls selected Aldridge with the second pick, but that day traded him to Portland for Thomas, the fourth pick.
Yuck…
The Bulls traded Thomas to Charlotte midway through his fourth season. His best numbers were 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2008-09.
Meanwhile, Aldridge could be headed to the Hall of Fame. He averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 16 seasons with Portland, San Antonio and Brooklyn while being selected to seven NBA All-Star teams.
1. 1995, Jason Caffey on Michael Finley
This is misleading because the Bulls were on their way to their second three-peat. Caffey, selected 20th overall, was a decent rotation player during the streak.
But drafting Finley, taken 21st overall by Phoenix, would have gone a long way toward preventing the post-Jordan collapse under Tim Floyd. Keeping Pippen and pairing him with Finley and Tony Kukoc might have thwarted the dire rebuild that soon began.
The entire trajectory of the organization could have changed under Finley.
Finley, a Proviso East product, had his most productive seasons with Dallas. He was an iron man who consistently averaged 20 points with good rebounding and assist numbers while making two all-star teams.
