Chicago Bulls Take Top Spot in NBA Draft

The Chicago Bulls didn't get a lot of luck in the 2007-2008 season.

They lost out on Kobe Bryant, and everybody that was involved in the proposed trade became angry and didn't give their full effort for the remainder of the season.

The same thing happened with Pau Gasol, who the Bulls lost out on to the same LA Lakers that also have the same Kobe Bryant that the Bulls also lost on.

But tonight, the Bulls were finally given a piece of good luck. With a 1.7% chance of landing the top pick, the Bulls were able to snag the number one pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

This gives them a choice on who they want to take with the first pick in the Draft.

They could take all-around beast Michael Beasley, who could solidify the post and take some offensive pressure off their perimeter players while adding even more rebounds to a strong rebounding team.

Or they could take local hero Derrick Rose, who came out of Chicago in high school to dominate at Memphis as a guard.

Rose could come in and help stabilize the guard position, which has been good but not great over the past few years.

The Bulls gain a great player regardless, who will help this team get back into the spotlight, but what will happen if they draft either player?

Ripple Effect of Michael Beasley

If Beasley is drafted a few major things will happen.

First of all, he comes into the center position and is able to dominate from day one.

Joakim Noah moves to PF while Drew Gooden stays on the team as a veteran presence to help keep the two young guns in check.

With the presence of an inside scorer, a lot of burdens are lifted off the shoulders of Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon (assuming he stays with the Bulls), who are able to start shooting more consistently because of less pressure.

The increase of scoring and rebounds (he averaged 26.2 and 12.4 respectively in his one year at K-State), that Beasley brings with him can help do what Ben Wallace was supposed to do.

Beasley could possible help send the Bulls to an NBA Championship within the next two years, and the city of Chicago would rejoice.

Possible Starters: Beasley C, Noah PF, Deng SF, Gordon or Hughes SG, Hinrich PG

Ripple Effect of Derrick Rose

With Rose thrown into the Bulls lineup, a few things could be made from trade stand points.

First, the Bulls are able to package Kirk Hinrich and Larry Hughes to a team (possibly Denver) for an inside presence to make up for the lack of a true dominant inside player.

With the extra money from Hughes' contract gone, they would also have more cash to re-sign Ben Gordon.

Lets say that the Bulls send Hughes and Hinrich to Denver for Marcus Camby.  He is able to be the inside defender that Ben Wallace brought to the table for only one year.

Camby brings strong defense, reasonable scoring, and plenty of rebounds.

With the inside presence, the Bulls are able to be more effective because of a balanced team. And with more money, they are able to go after more free agents.

Possible Starters: Camby C, Noah PF, Deng SF, Gordon SG, Rose PG

These are only hypothetical scenarios, so don't get on me for being unrealistic.  I'm a Bulls fan that is looking at possible scenarios. I'm also still on a high from the lottery victory.

The Camby trade is only a possibility.

For those who are curious, I think that the Beasley scenario will have a better outcome than the Rose scenario, seeing as it will be hard to package some of our guards and find a good inside player.

Feel free to leave comments with your own scenarios and who you think the Bulls will pick.

I'm Joe W.

Information for this article was found on NBA.com and ESPN.com