The NBA Draft is Tonight

For those of us here that are NBA fans, tonight is a big night. It's the NBA Draft, and it's probably one of the deepest drafts that the NBA has had in a while. Everybody knows about Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, but even after those two, there's a ton of talented players left out there.

All of which is very good news for any team crappy lucky enough to find itself in the lottery.

One of those teams, of course, are our very own Chicago Bulls. Tonight we receive our final gift from Isiah Thomas, as the Bulls hold the 9th overall pick. I've been looking around at some of the players that most experts think the Bulls will take, and I'd like to share each of them with you, along with my thoughts on each guy.

• Spencer Hawes 7-0 230lb Center Washington-Hawes is a big white guy from Washington. He's had injury problems in his short college career - he's 19 -and I don't have any reason to believe he won't have them in the NBA. The plus side, he actually has an offensive game down in the paint which is something the Bulls desperately need.


• Yi Jianlin 7-0 246lb Power Forward China-Jianlin could be the most intriguing player in the draft, but only because he's from China, so nobody knows what they're going to get from him. The only comparisons between Yi and Yao Ming are that they're both very tall and from China. After that, Yi is far more athletic than Yao, a better shooter and ballhandler. He also runs the floor well. A negative is he'll need to add some bulk in his upper body.


• Joakim Noah 6-11 230lb Power Forward Florida-Anybody who's followed college basketball knows who Joakim Noah is. He's the most noticeable member of the Florida Gators team that's won the NCAA title the last two seasons. My doubts about Noah are on the offensive side of the ball. He's a good defender and rebounder, but the Bulls don't need a big man down low to defend and rebound. I think that's what they pay Ben Wallace all that money for. Oh, and then there's also this little tidbit from Joakim himself. I also feel I should mention the fact that I'm probably the only non-Gator fan in the country who doesn't hate Joakim.


• Julian Wright 6-9 220lb Small Forward Kansas-It would be a nice story seeing as how Julian hails from Chicago, but it wouldn't make much sense. He's a lot like Luol Deng, and as I've said with the other three players, he doesn't fill a need. That said, if the other three guys I've listed here are gone, the Bulls may take him.


• Brandan Wright 6-10 210lb Power Forward North Carolina-Much like the other Wright, the Bulls don't really need Brandan. What Julian is to Luol Deng, Brandan is to Tyrus Thomas. This could happen, but I wouldn't put any money on it.

So who do I want?

I honestly don't know. Unlike last year when I had my heart set on Tyrus Thomas or LaMarcus Aldridge, I don't really feel a desire for any of these players. I like things I hear about Yi Jianlin, but at the same time I have absolutely no idea what the Bulls would actually get from him. Sure, he was pretty dominant in China, but he was playing in China. He wasn't playing against NBA talent. Hawes seems most ready to help the Bulls now, but his injury history scares me.

We can eliminate the Wright boys because we basically have then on the team already.

So that leaves us with Joakim Noah. Like I said, I like Joakim, his energy and the passion he brings with him to the court. I just don't know if he'll ever develop into the type of offensive player the Bulls need.

So I guess it comes down to either Jianlin or Noah. I'm not 100% on either, but guess I'm just going to have to live with it.

Well, unless the Bulls pull out some miracle trade with their pick and end up getting KG or something, but that won't happen.