Ice Man wrote:Jcool0 wrote:Bulls love to draft projects with minimal NBA upside.
That could be, but it's also true that #18 picks aren't worth much. Here are recent picks and this year's PER stat (15 is league average for that figure) -
Jamie Jaquez Jr. - 12.7
Dalen Terry - 9.6
Tre Mann - 12.4
Josh Green - 10.3
Goga Bitadze - 17.9
Lonnie Walker IV - 13.5
TJ Leaf - Out of the league
Henry Ellenson - Out of the league
Sam Dekker - Out of the league
Tyler Ennis - Out of the league
Honestly, I don't pay any attention to later-round 1st round picks until they actually show me that they are worth my attention. The odds are just too low that I will actually ever care.
If you want to look at the selection, it's better (IMO anyway) to look at the reasonable opportunity cost in the draft
Next players:
Jake LaRavia (seems like a similarly nothing prospect so far but don't know)
Malaki Branham (currently a rotation player)
Christian Braun (currently a rotation player)
Walter Kessler (low end starter and would solve a huge need for us specifically)
3 of the next 4 guys off the board would have helped us, one would have helped us significantly.
Given Terry didn't solve a need on paper even if he delivered on his promise, didn't have any markings of high future upside, wasn't a guy who would step in and contribute right away, and felt like an overall talent reach on draft night, the pick is more representative of completely broken process than it is a massive loss in opportunity.
It wasn't a huge opportunity cost, it was a relatively small one, but the logic behind it was so baffling that it defies logic.