Ranking the Bulls’ top five draft mistakes
Close your eyes and dream, Bulls fans. The NBA draft begins tonight.
Or, better yet, maybe just close your eyes. This week’s edition of the High Five looks at some dark, disappointing drafts for the Bulls.
With help from veteran Daily Herald Bulls beat writer Mike McGraw, we’re presenting five of the worst draft decisions in team history.
First, a few insights. We’re not including the crossover drafts with the ABA and NBA because drafted players were signing in one league or the other.
Drafts from 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 Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, Chet Walker, Bob Love teams.
The late ‘70s, early ‘80s drafts aren’t here because the selections of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant made them irrelevant. You can’t question six titles.
5. 2012, Marquis Teague over Draymond Green
Some may say the 2012 draft shouldn’t be here because the whole league passed on Green, the fifth pick in the second round. But Teague was taken only six spots ahead of Green, who’s helped Golden State to four NBA titles while making four all-star teams.
Green has his issues with fines and suspensions, but there’s no doubting his talent. Teague, a guard selected 29th by the Bulls, played only 67 games in two seasons while averaging a little more than two points a game.
4. 2018, Wendell Carter Jr. over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Carter was a productive player for the Bulls in three seasons, averaging about 11 points and 8 rebounds before being traded in 2021 to Orlando.
But as the seventh overall pick, the Carter experience wasn’t ideal. And now that Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as a superstar with Oklahoma City — he was second in this year’s MVP race — the selection looks even worse.
Gilgeous-Alexander was picked 11th by Charlotte and traded the same day to the Clippers, who traded him to Oklahoma City. The last two seasons he’s averaged more than 30 points a game.
3. 2020, Patrick Williams over 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 whatever reason.
Haliburton was drafted 12th by Sacramento and traded to Indiana in his second season. With the Pacers he developed into an all-star who carried 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 nice in a Bulls uniform.
2. 2006, Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge
The Bulls drafted Aldridge with the No. 2 pick but traded him that day to Portland for Thomas, the No. 4 pick.
Ugh …
The Bulls traded Thomas to Charlotte in the middle of his fourth season. His best numbers were 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds a game in 2008-09.
Aldridge, meanwhile, may be headed for 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 over Michael Finley
This one’s deceptive because the Bulls were embarking on their second three-peat. Caffey, selected 20th, was a decent rotation player during the run.
But selecting Finley, taken 21st by Phoenix, would have gone a long way in preventing the post-Jordan collapse under Tim Floyd. Keeping Pippen and grouping him with Finley and Tony Kukoc could’ve thwarted the awful rebuild that soon began.
The entire trajectory of the organization might’ve changed with Finley.
Finley, a Proviso East product, had his most productive seasons with Dallas. He was an ironman who consistently averaged 20 points with good rebound and assist numbers while making two all-star teams.