The last time the Bulls selected a high-energy big man from Arkansas they netted Bobby Portis.
Practice punches and all.
Second-round pick Daniel Gafford isn’t expected to have the impact that Portis did, especially early on, but that doesn’t mean the 6-foot-11 rim-runner won’t be counted on to push for back-up minutes.
“He’s a defensive rolling center, high energy, can run the floor,’’ Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said of the 38th overall pick from Thursday’s NBA Draft. “He’s very athletic. His rebounding numbers, analytically, hit shot-blocking numbers were really high. He played in a really difficult conference and produced. Again, he’s a young man that’s going to have to earn his stripes. But we like him as a basketball player.’’
What’s not to like?
Gafford finished First-Team All-SEC last season, averaging 16.9 points and 8.7 points per game. His athleticism in the paint is at least late first-round talent, but his lack of any sort of shooting touch outside the paint, as well as his free throw shooting, is what turns first round into second round for a player like Gafford.
What the pick of Gafford does is likely all but close the door on Robin Lopez coming back in free agency, not that anyone should be shocked by that.
It now puts pressure on Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. to step up, as Gafford is already more athletic than backup big man Cristiano Felicio.
There are minutes to be won for Gafford, even if the Bulls do add more depth to the frontcourt in free agency.
“We’re still very young,’’ Paxson said. “We’ve recognized that for the last couple years. We know this offseason we have to address some veteran players that can fit in to the group that we have, help us win basketball games. It’s something that’s exciting for us.
“Talking [Thursday] as we sat as a group, [general manager] Gar [Forman] and [coach] Jim Boylen, we’re really excited about the possibilities.
“Jim often talks about he wants the competitive guys, he wants the tough guys, the tough-minded people. I think we got two tough-minded young people [in Gafford and first-round pick Coby White]. We have to approach it the same way as we get into free agency.’’
Staying mum
Paxson knows free agency is less than 10 days away, but was staying mum on the details of what the Bulls will be shopping for.
“We’ve already had a ton of dialogue as a staff,’’ Paxson said. “We have a very good understanding of the direction we want to go and how we want to use our money. We’re going to attack that at the proper time. We have specific ideas in mind how we want to go about our offseason after the draft, which starts now.
“We have ideas in free agency. They’ve got to be the right type of guys for us.’’
The Sun-Times reported right after the season that the Bulls were eyeing second- and third-tier point guards in free agency, and that has not changed with the selection of White.
Patrick Beverley would be a great fit for what the Bulls want from the point guard position, but a source reiterated to the Sun-Times on Thursday that the cost for Beverley could be high. Same can be said for veterans Ricky Rubio and Darren Collison.
The two names that continue to come up on the Bulls radar are Cory Joseph and Ish Smith.
