A 6′8″ 250 lb. Small Forward with handles, a quick first step, range to the 3 point line, quick feet to defend small guards, size to bang with the 4’s and 5’s, and explosiveness to jump over people at the rim. Sounds like an all-star description right? Sounds like a player your familiar with right? If you read the first line in this paragraph and you didn’t read the headline you would think I was talking about LeBron James right? Well had James Johnson been exposed to the AAU circuit before his Junior year in high school, and been hooked up with a powerful shoe company perhaps he would be spoken about in the same breath as LBJ.

James Johnson, however grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a basketball nowhere, and then blew up on the AAU scene going into his senior year. He was ranked in the top 50 and commited to Wake Forest. Despite playing with shoot first point guard Jeff Teague he finished 2nd in the ACC freshman of the year voting. He was dominant at times at Wake despite not being featured enough. That may explain his drop to #16 in the NBA draft despite having a skill set only comparable to the elite small forwards in the NBA.

 His jump shot and handle needs refining but it is there. Look at James Johnson play and see who he reminds you of in the NBA. I think of Carmelo Anthony, LBJ, and a young Antoine Walker. While there were some good players in the ‘09 draft taken ahead of Johnson there were not 15 of them. Sure Blake Griffin will dominate. Guards like James Harden will be an automatic 20ppg scorer for years, Ricky Rubio will make highlight reels sick of him, and guys like Stephen Curry and Johnny Flynn will score in bunches, but with the exception of Griffin are any of them all-stars? All-stars are unique. They are matchup problems. They have size, strength and skill combinations no one else has, and James Johnson definitely fits that description, and the Bulls are very fortunate to have had him fall to #16.

 Playing with Derrick Rose won’t hurt either. The 6′4″ point guard prodigy needs athletes that can run with him, and he will set Johnson up for better shots than he ever has gotten before. Add that with his ability to get his own shot and the Bulls may have their dynamic duo for the next 12 years

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 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.

The Chicago Bulls couldn’t resist picking hometown hero Derrick Rose out of Memphis State in the first round. The Bulls are loaded at guard so Rose will have to earn all of his playing time but there is little reason to think that he won’t. He’s a little skinny at 6′3″, 190 pounds and he’s a little young at 19, but his talent on the court is undeniable. Rose played in 40 games (39 starts) at Memphis State in his career and he averaged 14.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He also shot very well as he shot 47.7% from the floor which shows that he’s not a selfish gunner. This was a solid pick but he will be compared to forward Michael Beasley his whole career.