The Bulls selected JamesOn Curry in the second round (#51 pick) out of Oklahoma State. The shooting guard has a nice game but he’s had problems with the law and that’s why he lasted so long in the draft. Curry is a little on the short side at 6′3″, 190 pounds but he’s a tough little guy like Ben Gordon is. He’s not in Gordon’s class as a player though. He played in 101 games at Oklahoma State and he averaged 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He’s a decent shooter as he hit 43.7% from the floor, 40.4% from three point range and 75.8% from the free throw line.

The Bulls wanted to get a legit backup center in the draft and they are hoping that Aaron Gray out of Pitt can be that guy. The Bulls used the #49 overall pick in the draft on Gray who is a big man at 7′0″, 277 pounds. Gray played in 113 games for the Pitt Panthers and he averaged 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Gray shot an impressive 55% from the floor in his career at Pitt, but most of that came on putbacks and dunks. He needs to improve his free throw shooting as he only hit 59.5% from the line.Â

The Bulls will likely let Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas battle it out for the starting power forward position in Training Camp. Noah stands at 6′11″, 232 pounds and he’s a typical power forward as a lot of his game is played in the paint. Noah played in 108 games at Florida and he averaged 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He shot 61.2% from the floor mostly on putbacks and dunks but he only hit 68.4% from the free throw line and that won’t get it done. Look for Noah’s playing style to inspire his teammates at times this season. He was an excellent pick at #9 for the Bulls……Thank you Knicks.

The Chicago Bulls are in a great position for next season and they only have two free agents. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls re-sign Andres Nocioni or if they decide to start Tyrus Thomas at power forward. Nocioni’s all out hustle will likely tempt some team in free agency to give him a nice offer. The other free agent is power forward P.J. Brown and the Bulls have to decide if they think he has anything left in the tank….chances are that they will let him walk. The Bulls really are going into the draft in great shape as the core of the team is intact. The Bulls own the #9 pick, #49 and #51 in the draft and they will likely go for the best player available as that has worked well for them lately. Also, don’t worry….the Bulls aren’t going to gut their team in a trade for Kobe Bryant and that comes right from the GM.