24-year old Luol Deng will be the starter at small forward again this season for the Bulls. He played in only 49 games last season for the Bulls and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 14.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. A healthy Deng gives the Bulls a lethal weapon on both offense and defense as he plays hard on both ends of the basketball court. The Bulls drafted two forwards in the first round to guard against the health of Deng this season. First up is 22-year old James Johnson who was selected with the 16th pick of the first round out of Wake Forest. He’s a big guy at 6′9″, 245 pounds and he will likely cause opposing teams to play a big lineup when he’s on the court. 24-year old Taj Gibson was also picked in the first round with the 26th pick out of USC. He is also 6′9″ but he weighs in at 225 pounds. Both Johnson and Gibson will likely get some minutes at power forward too as long as Deng stays healthy.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B-