There were a lot of things that have went wrong for the Chicago Bulls over the last couple of years, derailing their window of opportunity to win an NBA title, mostly due to injuries. But not having a pure, reliable shooter last season was another issue they’d like to attend to in the 2013 NBA draft, considering using their 20th pick on Shabazz Muhammad, Reggie Bullock, Glen Rice Jr. or Tim Hardaway Jr. to fill that spot.
Chicago were 29th last season in three point field goals made, hitting only 5.4 per game, hitting only 35.3% of them, good enough for 21st in the league. The lack of fast ball movement and spacing on their hard-to-watch offense had to do with that, but like the chicken and the egg story, not having anyone trustworthy to drain open threes also led to that kind of game-plan.
So the Bulls are outthere looking for someone who can hit open shots when Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose, hopefully, get all the attention. So who is there that can be an immediate contributor? There are about four options that sound reasonable for the Bulls to take at 20, each of them coming with his own flaws and problems.
Shabazz Muhammad might have gone number one if he’d come out straight out of high school, but his season with UCLA simply hurt his draft stock, and he’s plummeting outside the top 10 according to most at the moment, and his slide might continue.
Showing no offensive versatility or any kind of impressive athleticism, his 17.9 points per game with UCLA didn’t turn too many heads, but it is his long range shooting ability (37.7% during his Freshman season) that’s getting a lot of people interested. Muhammad can score, but not in a lot of ways, but with a full lineup ready to play next season, they might not need too much except for some long range shooting.
Reggie Bullock is probably going to get drafted after 20, so if the Bulls are really into the rather unique wingman from North Carolina, they should have no problem getting him. He shot 43.6% from beyond the arc on his final season at Chapel Hill, and while there’s a lot to his game he can add, especially when it comes to defense, he’s probably one of the best shooters in this draft the Bulls can get their hands on.
Tim Hardaway Jr. coming out of Michigan is going to be the player some expect to be like a poor man’s Stephen Curry. Out of the options the Bulls have in front of them, he’s the only one who is really good at shooting off the dribble, and he hit 37.4% of his three point shots during his Junior season with Michigan. He isn’t the greatest dribbler in the world and has an awful shot selection at times, but he is one of those who catches fire quickly which is very had to put out.
Glen Rice Jr. is actually coming from the D-League after getting kicked off from Georgia Tech. He isn’t the kind of player his dad was, but he can be the specialist the Bulls need in the form of an outside shooter, also adding some better defense and rebounding than the rest of the players on their shortlist.