It’s the Chicago Bulls Podcast 37 hosted by Marcus Couch and Wyse Black. We’ve got NBA Draft pick reactions and evaluations for Bulls picks Coby White and Daniel Gafford, plus a preview of Free Agents for the Bulls to target going forward.
Welcome to the Bulls Podcast, coming to you from BullsPodcast.com. This is where we bring you the latest news, reviews, rants, rumors and opinions on the players, coaches and front office of the Chicago Bulls.
We’ve got several topics for this episode. Including:
NBA Draft Reactions
Free Agent Prospects and Targets Going Forward
All season long we have urged you to embrace the tank! Was it worth it? We’ll be right back after this quick time-out to find out!
NBA DRAFT REACTION
After a feverish amount of trades with Atlanta, Phoenix, New Orleans and of course, the blockbuster AD trade to the Lakers, the Bulls decided to sit this one out and made no trades prior to the 7th pick
Even before the draft, on social media the opinions were flying early and often regarding who the Bulls should pick, and even polls on if the Bulls would get it right concerning their own draft performance. Waddle & Silvy’s poll asking that very question resulted in an astounding 83% voting that the Bulls would screw it up.
In the end, The Bulls selected Coby White as their 7th pick. And we’ve got reactions and possibly a rant about this particular choice and what it does to our lineup with the Bulls.
He averaged 16.1 points and 4.1 assists as a freshman for the Tar Heels.
Obviously, drafting North Carolina’s Coby White means that the Bulls are going to try and pick up the pace in the offense. Coby is as fast as they come in Point Guards. We’re talking Derrick Rose level speed. He doesn’t have quite the shot, but he can dish it out to Zach, Lauri, Otto and WCJ with a quickness, so let’s see what this gets us.
Personally I was open to seeing the Bulls draft Cam Reddish, but I can understand why they went for a point guard of the future in this year’s draft. Reddish actually slipped down to the Number #10 pick by the Atlanta Hawks. One could have made an argument that Reddish was the better pick. Some may have even argued Doumbouya. But, when you take everything into consideration, White was the correct pick for the current state of the franchise.
Wendell Carter Jr was actually present at the draft and personally welcomed Coby White to the Bulls Family on nationwide TV. We’re looking forward to becoming Coby White fans over the next few years as well.
In the second round, Chicago selected Daniel Gafford from Arkansas at no. 38 overall. It was not necessarily a flashy pick, but one which the Bulls can utilize almost immediately. He’s a 6-foot-11 big man with a defensive tenacity matched by few. Gafford comes out of the University of Arkansas after earning First Team All SEC this past season, as well as making the SEC All Defensive Team in both of his seasons with the Razorbacks.
Like our last Arkansas pick, Bobby Portis, Gafford is a long, high-energy big man who produced strong numbers in his final year at Arkansas. In fact, the numbers are eerily similar. Take a look at their final seasons with the team:
Portis: 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 96.9 DEF Rating
Gafford: 16.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 95.7 DEF Rating
The points and rebounds are almost identical, but Gafford blocked more shots than Portis did in his final season.
Another aspect which Gafford has Portis beat is straight-up field goal percentage. Last year, Gafford shot 66.0 percent from the field. In Portis’ final year with the Razorbacks, he shot 53.6 percent.
Now, the one area which Gafford does not compare to Portis is from beyond the arc. In today’s NBA, it certainly helps to have some range as a big man. Gafford has zero outside shot, while Portis has developed his even more as a pro.
