Chicago Bulls: Tony Snell and Erik Murphy Add Dimension to Offense

The Chicago Bulls selected Tony Snell from the University of New Mexico with the 20th pick and Erik Murphy from the University of Florida with their 49th pick.

Along with the return of Derrick Rose next season, here are a few reasons why Bulls fans should be excited about the team's draft picks looking ahead to 2013-14.

Tony Snell

The Bulls averaged just 92.3 points per game during the 2012-13 campaign, and a big reason for that was because of their inability to stretch opposing defenses.

As a matter of fact, Chicago was ranked 20th in three-point shooting—connecting on just 35 percent of its shot attempts from beyond the arc.

Needless to say, this was an area the team was looking to address going into next season.

Enter Tony Snell into the equation.

Snell scored 12.5 points per contest for New Mexico last season and shot the three-ball at a 39 percent clip.

Based on the solid field-goal percentage from distance, Snell appears to be just what the Bulls are looking for—a player who can shoot the long ball and prevent opposing defenses from focusing in on Derrick Rose.

Another positive about Snell is his size. At 6’7”, he can potentially play multiple positions, which will allow him to be a solid backup for Jimmy Butler or Luol Deng—both of whom logged heavy minutes in multiple stretches last season.

If you’re looking for negative aspects to Snell’s game, it would have to be his ball-handling (2.1 turnovers per game) and his low rebounding numbers (3.4 per contest). The good news is that Snell will improve in both of these areas under head coach Tom Thibodeau.

While Chad Ford of ESPN NBA Insider questioned the Bulls selecting Snell, citing inconsistencies on both ends of the floor as his primary concern, Snell is a player who will prove to be a valuable asset to the team if given the opportunity to play extended minutes.

Erik Murphy

Last season, the Bulls acquired Vladimir Radmanovic to fill the role of the stretch-forward position, but that turned out to be a huge disappointment to say the least.

Radmanovic connected on just 30 percent of his field-goal attempts, including a horrendous 19 percent from distance. That being said, it should not surprise anyone that he played less than six minutes per outing.

In taking a quick look at Murphy’s body of work, he appears to be a definite upgrade compared to his predecessor.

During the 2012-13 campaign, Murphy recorded 12.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest while shooting an efficient 52 percent from the field.

In addition to that, Murphy also connected on 45 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc—making him a rare find in any draft.

As the video below illustrates, Murphy is not just a spot-up shooter. He can also score in the low post and finish effectively around the rim.

Murphy also has a high motor, similar to that of Joakim Noah, which allows him to run the floor very well.

Another positive attribute about Murphy is that he sets solid screens, which should provide quality looks at the rim for himself or other teammates.

According to Umair Khan of Bullets Forever, the most glaring deficiencies in Murphy’s game are his lack of foot speed, which will prevent him from staying in front of quicker opponents, and his low rebounding numbers.

The counterargument is several players have come to Chicago as sub-par defenders, but excelled under Tom Thibodeau, so this should not be a huge concern to Bulls fans.

Obviously, it would be difficult to label the Bulls as the best team in the East being that the Miami Heat have won the last two titles and are not going away anytime soon.

However, the Bulls have addressed multiple needs, and depending on how management opts to round out the bench, it is conceivable that Chicago will be one of two teams vying for a spot in the finals next season.