The Bulls selected 24-year old power forward Taj Gibson with the #26 pick in the NBA Draft last night. Gibson played in 105 games in three years at USC and he averaged 12.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game. Gibson is a really good athlete with a nice upside and he will compete for minutes early in his career. This was a solid pick by the Bulls.

The Bulls selected 22-year old power forward James Johnson with the 16th pick in the NBA Draft last night. Johnson is a pure power player as he doesn’t venture outside the paint much. He played in 61 games in his two years at Wake Forest and he averaged 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Johnson gives an all-out effort every night on both ends of the court and that could earn him a starting job with the Bulls as a rookie. But, he will likely have to beat out fellow first round pick Taj Gibson for the job.

The biggest decision involves shooting guard Ben Gordon who is a unrestricted free agent. He apparently has a lot of suitors so re-signing him will be expensive. With that in mind a sign and trade could be in order for Gordon as it’s unlikely that the Bulls will want to pay him what he’s worth. Gordon played in 82 games (76 starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 36.6 minutes, 20.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Reserve center Aaron Gray is a restricted free agent. The Bulls will likely match any offer Gray receives as he shouldn’t get a significant offer. Gray played in 56 games (18 starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and a 0.6 assists per game. Defensive stopper Lindsay Hunter won’t likely be back. He played in 28 games (0 starts) last season for the Bulls and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 2.6 points, 0.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Derrick Rose has been everything the Bulls thought he would be…..and much more. He has played in 15 games for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 37.7 minutes, 19.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Look for Rose to only get better as he gets experience as he will likely develop into the go-to man for the Bulls.

The Bulls acquired center Omer Asik out of Turkey from the Trailblazers on draft night for three future 2nd round picks. If the Bulls can talk Asik into coming to the U.S. this will turn out to be a good trade for the Bulls. Asik is 7′0″, 255 pounds and he’s a good defender and rebounder. He has played in 77 games in his pro career in Turkey and he has averaged 9.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.9 blocked shots per game.