2015 NBA Draft

Sam Smith

The Bulls came into the NBA draft Thursday thinking small. But instead they came out with a big.

"We're real excited to draft Bobby Portis tonight," Bulls general manager told reporters in the Advocate Center at the conclusion of the draft's first round. "Bobby's a guy that we've watched play the last few years at Arkansas and our entire staff has really liked him. As a sophomore, he was SEC Player of the Year, one of three guys, I think it was (Jahlil) Okafor, (Frank) Kaminsky and [Portis] that had 600 points and 300 rebounds, a guy that we think really fits our team and the make up of our team. We've had people just rave about his work ethic, how hard he plays, his makeup, his character and we really like his game. He's a big that can play inside, outside, 6-11, 250, 7-2 wingspan. So as a 19-year-old sophomore, we think he's a guy that has a lot of potential to get better. As you guys know, as we prepared for the draft, we're going to draft who we feel is the best player available. We had him ranked as a late lottery pick going into the night. As we saw him start to slip, we got excited about him and then we were surprised he was there. Really excited to get Bobby. I think he's going to be a fit with our team. I think he's going to be a fit in our locker room. I think he's got a lot of potential for the future."

The selection of Portis with the No. 22 pick was something of a surprise and to the Bulls as well. The Bulls didn't believe he would fall to them, so never had him in for a workout. Predraft analyses and mock drafts generally had Portis going somewhere between Nos. 12 and 18 in the first round. In my mock draft on Bulls.com, I had him going No. 18. ESPN had him going No. 15. NBAdraft.net had him going No. 13 and Draftexpress, another of the respected draft sites, had him slated at No. 17.

So it was, in a sense, a bargain selection for the Bulls.

The Bulls front court is crowded now, leaving little time for Portis to play this season. But teams don't often get a chance with a low first round draft pick to acquire a potentially quality big man. And the Bulls likely will need one with Joakim Noah on the last year of his contract, Pau Gasol turning 35 next month and Taj Gibson coming off surgery. So it also gives the Bulls, as coach Fred Hoiberg noted, a nice mixture of tested veterans and young guys on the way up in Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and Tony Snell to go along with Portis.

The Bulls had Portis graded probably right in the middle of the first round, perhaps seven or eight picks higher than their spot. So the Bulls were concentrating on point guards to fill an apparent need as a backup with Aaron Brooks not expected to return. The Bulls had planned to replace Brooks with a veteran, but still figured to work in a young point guard.

The top point guards, however, were coming off the board with Cameron Payne going No. 14 to the Thunder, Terry Rozier No. 16 to the Celtics and Jerian Grant No. 19 to the Wizards and later traded to the Knicks.

The surprise at the top of the draft was Ohio State point guard D'Angelo Russell going No. 2 to the Lakers. Minnesota, as expected, selected Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns No. 1. The 76ers then selected Duke's Jahlil Okafor No. 3 and the Knicks tabbed highly regarded international player Kristaps Porzingis No. 4 as Phil Jackson said on the ESPN broadcast Porzingis wasn't ready to produce in a big way yet, but he had substantial potential.

The Bulls are similarly hopeful about Portis, though no one is suggesting Portis has that potential superstar ceiling with his talent. But as player of the year in a tough conference, Portis is a potentially very highly skilled big man.

That got the Bulls dreaming a bit as the point guard depth became depleted. Utah's Delon Wright was taken No. 20, and though Duke's Tyus Jones and athletic Rondae Hollis-Jefferson remained, the Bulls were thrilled to see Portis available at No. 22.

The Bulls make it an organizational philosophy to draft more for talent than need, and Portis fit as a higher level talent even if he's less likely to help in the upcoming season.

Hoiberg said in the draft room it was unanimous among staff and coaches that the pick should be Portis.

"First and foremost, he moves very well for a kid that size," said Hoiberg, who joined Forman for the media session. "He's over 6-10 and runs the floor extremely well, which is very important with the pace we're going to want to play with. He's good in the pick and roll. They play a different system at Arkansas. There's a lot of pressure. It's the 40 minutes of hell, that type system with a lot of pressing. And he was in the back of the press quite a bit. With the turnovers they created, he wasn't able to show his full package. The thing I'm excited about is his ability to play all over the floor. Against us (at Iowa State), he hit six shots pretty much all from the perimeter in the first half. He's a very versatile kid who you can use in different ways. And he's learning from some great veteran players. Being in the draft room tonight, it's not very often when you get to your pick, especially in the 20s, and it's unanimous. Portis kept falling. It was a great pick for us."

Though the Bulls didn't have Portis in for a workout, Forman said they'd watched him extensively.

"He wasn't a real mistake player," said Forman. "He would handle the ball some in their offense, dribble handoffs and different things that they did. And they ran some offense through him in the high post. And then he was very active crashing the offensive boards. His offensive rebounding rate was extremely high. Even in a league like the SEC where there are terrific players, I think he's one of only a handful – five or 10 guys in the history of the SEC – that have won most valuable player in that league as a sophomore or as a freshmen. I thought for his age, his game was more mature. He's still a young guy and there will still be a lot of growth that he'll have to go through, but the encouraging thing is we know he's going to be a worker and he's going to come in this building every day and try and get better.''

Forman also discussed other issues involving the Bulls:

--- Taj Gibson's surgery: "The prognosis is good. I think it was a real positive. Obviously, anytime there's surgery, there's seriousness to it. But from what the doctors told us, though it's a three to four-month rehab process, once he comes back the ankle will be like new. That will be a real positive. It was obvious the ankle bothered him some this past year. Taj felt, we felt, his agent felt that it was something that needed to be done. We anticipate he'll be 100 percent come October.

--- Jimmy Butler's free agency and contract: "Our goal all along, obviously, is to have Jimmy here long term. We feel real confident in our situation, how well he fits and that Jimmy is comfortable in Chicago. Our goal will be on July 1 to sit down with him and hopefully come to a deal in a timely fashion. We'll sit down and talk about what he's looking for and what we're looking for and hopefully find something that's beneficial for both sides. Obviously, Jimmy is a huge, huge part of what we're doing. We'll do everything we can and anticipate him being in Chicago.

--- Reports of friction between Butler and Derrick Rose: "We talk to Jimmy all the time. Jimmy has been in the building. There's no reason at all that their games shouldn't fit together perfectly. I read about the friction. I haven't seen it. In all our minds, you've got two guys who can attack, want to run, can play off the dribble and play make for themselves and others. They haven't had a chance to do it a whole lot because of the injuries. But there's no reason those two shouldn't be able to play at a high level and be one of the best backcourts in the league.

Added Hoiberg on the same subject: "I agree. I think they complement each other beautifully. I'm looking forward to trying to put those guys in great spots where they can continue be All-Star caliber players."

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Bulls go big in draft with Bobby Portis

Bulls first round draft pick Bobby Portis at least doesn't dream modestly.

"I like Kevin Garnett; I also like Tim Duncan because they are guys who are hard workers," Portis by telephone told reporters gathered at the Bulls Advocate Center after being selected No. 22 by the Bulls in Thursday's NBA draft. "(Players) who go hard and are very versatile at their position. So they are guys I really like."

Last month at the NBA draft combine in Chicago, the Arkansas big man was similarly direct.

"My passing and my intensity," Portis said then when asked by reporters why he likened himself to Garnett. "Simply because once I step on the court I'm mad. I play with a chip on my shoulder, a log on my shoulder, that no other player plays with every possession. Some players play to play; I play to win. Playing to play is getting 20 minutes, getting your shots, your minutes.

Playing to win is if coach puts me out there four, five minutes you know Bobby Portis is going to give his all every minute he is out there."

The Bulls can only hope, though the 6-11, 245 pound forward (measurements with shoes at the combine) likely will be more of a future player for the Bulls. Portis, a sophomore, just turned 20 in February and comes into a crowded front court with Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic. Thus, Portis is lined up more for the future with Noah entering the final year of his contract and Gasol turning 35 the first week of July.

But Portis said he is experienced coming off the bench as he did so in high school and in AAU ball since he was a 6-2 guard who had a big growth spurt to 6-10.

"With me in high school I sat on the bench," Portis said back at the combine. "People don't know I was 6-2 then. I grew to 6-10 and I had to adjust to this body. I sat on the bench then, but it doesn't matter because I am going to continue working to become that best player and be the best Bobby Portis I can be.

"I feel like I can bring something to the team no one else can," Portis added then at the combine. "I can play multiple positions. I can defend multiple positions. And I can also make shots. For a big that can make shots is pretty big. At 6-2, I was not posting up. I was shooting jumpers. It's why I think I can shoot a little bit because when I was 6-2 I had to shoot jumpers."

Portis is considered a good face up shooter without a substantial post game. He's more a mid range shooter with high level comparisons to Greg Monroe more than Kevin Garnett. He's good on the break and can finish in traffic and comes in as SEC player of the year. The overall sense is he has an NBA sized body for his position and will need to grow into his skills, which he will have time to do coming off the bench in limited action with the current deep Bulls team.

Because Portis was ranked somewhat higher than the Bulls pick at No. 22, the Bulls didn't have him in for a workout. But they felt he was too good to pass up given his size and potential.

"I haven't had any workouts with the Bulls so this was new to me," said Portis by phone after the draft Thursday. "I worked out for teams above them. But I'm still kind of grateful to them (for) giving me the opportunity to be a Bull.

"I was just trying to get drafted today," Portis said. "Thankful for getting drafted and having this opportunity to be in the NBA. I'm a guy going hard as he can, going hard at every position because that is the only thing that got me here is my hard work. I can't stop working."

Bulls general manager Gar Forman and coach Fred Hoiberg were asked after the draft about a comment Portis made saying he visualizes opponents slapping his mom so he plays angry.

No one got into a discussion of domestic violence, but Portis, according to interviews while in college, experienced it during a difficult childhood in which his mother and siblings were forced to move often and Portis on one occasion stepped in to stop an assault on his mother by a boyfriend. Coaches called him and angry player also fighting the gang culture growing up poor in Little Rock, Ark. Portis told ESPN in college the domestic violence incidents have helped motivate him to improve as a player to help his mother and when people look back on this draft years from now they’ll see him as the best player.

Asked about playing for coach Fred Hoiberg, Portis recalled his team losing to Hoiberg's Iowa State team this season, though Portis had a good game.

"It was a brutal game for us," Portis recalled. "(We) didn't come out ready to play; our team came out kind of lackluster. So our team had to step it up in the second half and we came back a little bit but they still took off. I like Fred Hoiberg because he lets you play. If you can do something he is going to let you do it. If you can dribble, he's going to let you dribble as a big. He's going to let you show your versatility and everything. So that's one thing I really like about him.

"They are a lot of blue collar players on the (Bulls) team that do a lot of different things," Portis noticed. "(Guys) trying to go as hard as they can and (doing) some of the dirty work for their players. That's also me going hard and being a blue collar player. I think my strengths will show. I'm a player who prides himself on hard work. I can do a lot of different things with the basketball and I don't have (to have) the basketball to score. I'm a guy who moves well without the basketball, picks and pops and picks and rolls. I'm able to do a lot of different things and think I bring a lot to the table for the Chicago Bulls."

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Bobby Portis has big dreams

The 2015 NBA Draft was full of surprises. Bulls.com's Sam Smith was on hand to cover each first round pick as it happened.

[View the story "2015 Draft: Sam Smith analysis" on Storify]

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NBA Draft: Sam Smith pick-by-pick analysis

The NBA draft generally is about the poorest teams in the league. After all, the highest picks go to the teams with the worst records. But there are aberrations this season that make it difficult to determine the order of the top picks, at least after the first two choices.

There seems no doubt the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 1 pick will select Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns. General manager and coach Flip Saunders initially had a flirtation with Duke center and Chicagoan Jahlil Okafor, the best scoring big man. But the versatile Towns for a poor defensive team won over Saunders and Towns never even went to work out for the Lakers with the No. 2 pick.

So the Lakers most likely will take Okafor, though they are torn.

Adding Okafor with last year’s lottery pick Julius Randle gives the Lakers two relatively unathletic scoring postup threats. It’s not a bad thing to have, though the Lakers pride themselves on their “Showtime” uptempo, fast break tradition. Adding Okafor with Randle, the latter whom they could trade once he proves to be healthy after missing last season, is possible as there would be suitors, if not big offers. So the Lakers have paused over selecting one of the point guards, Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell or athletic prodigy Emmanuel Mudiay. After all, it has become a perimeter league that is guard oriented. And who exactly are players like Okafor and Randle going to guard? Plus, Okafor is a poor free throw shooter. Are the Lakers going to outscore uptempo Western Conference teams with post up players and the aging Kobe Bryant?

Is it worth a chance on an athletic guard who can begin to match up with the likes of Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, Tony Parker, Chris Paul and James Harden in the loaded West? And unless you get a player like that in the draft, as basically all those teams but the Clippers did, how are you going to get one? The Lakers likely will not have their No. 1 pick next season from the Steve Nash trade unless it’s top three.

The consensus around the NBA, however, is the Lakers will go the “safe” way and take the big man as they don’t come along that often. But it’s tough to make a move with a 19-year-old big man. Probably will make Kobe impatient.

But assuming it’s Towns/Okafor, then it really gets interesting.

The 76ers have the No. 3 pick and how do you predict what a team will do that has been trying to lose?

Then it’s the Knicks with Phil Jackson urging patience and experiencing disappointment as he’d hoped to land a big man from this draft. And then there’s his short sighted fan base, which basically sees this draft as the final short step toward winning a championship. Jackson spent the season deconstructing the team and now is expected to win with this draft and free agency? So the thinking goes he has to select someone “ready” to help the team now. But in this era of so called “one and done” teenagers, when was the last time anyone has been ready to help a team now?

Probably 2003 with LeBron James. And even with James, the Cavaliers missed the playoffs his first two seasons. No. 1 overall picks in this era of one year college players have little immediate impact. So then select an untested player said to have star potential, like Mudiay or Kristaps Porzingis? In New York City with a bad Knicks team and Carmelo Anthony taking all the shots?

Plus, it’s suddenly a changing financial landscape with the riches of a new, massive TV contract and expanded salary cap on the horizon and players aiming to gear their deals to that time. Thus the sudden run of opt outs on the eve of the draft from players like Kevin Love, Monta Ellis, J.R. Smith, Goran Dragic and David West.  And maybe more like Dwayne Wade to come. It will turn next week’s free agency into a frenzy beyond the curiosity of the draft.

But first things first, and 6 p.m. Thursday the NBA begins counting down it’s kindergarten corps for the coming seasons. This draft is considered one of the deepest in recent years with potential rotation players basically into the late teens and almost to No. 20.

The Bulls have No. 22, but they have done well finding gems in the 20s with Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic. Plus, they’ll be on guard for higher rated players to slip through as the level of talent usually is similar between Nos. 15 and 30.

Here’s a mock draft in an uncertain year for most NBA executives:

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NBA Draft: Sam Smith's Mock Draft

childukich

Next Thursday, the Bulls will pick 22nd in the 2015 NBA Draft from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. While it's not a lottery pick, the No. 22 selection has had some gems since 1977. Here’s a look at the top 10 No. 22 selections in the NBA draft:

The quick guard from Duquesne helped the Showtime Lakers to championships in 1980 and 1982 and led the Lakers in assists in the 1982 Finals. That was perhaps the main reason he was traded to the then San Diego Clippers for Byron Scott as the Lakers wanted Magic Johnson exclusively handling the ball. Nixon averaged about 17 points and 10 assists his first two Clippers seasons, but injuries cut short his career after 10 years.

The unheralded swingman from Northeastern came along during the Celtics transition period from the Bird/McHale/Parish era and became an All-Star in 1992, averaging more than 20 points in consecutive seasons as he was primed to take over team leadership.  Lewis missed nine games in his last five years in the NBA, but then tragically collapsed and died from heart disease during an offseason workout after the 1992-93 season.

The ultra athletic power forward from Morehead State has averaged 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in four seasons and was one of the stars of the 2014 USA Basketball World Cup gold medal winning team. He’s become one of the more explosive and exciting players in the NBA with his open court play and dunking.

The current Magic coach took a few years and stops to get going after an all-American career with Michigan State. But then with the expansion Orlando Magic, Skiles became one of the league’s premier point guards and set the all time record for assists in a game with 30. Skiles was second to John Stockton in assists in the 1992-93 season.

The Georgia Tech combo guard has become one of the league’s premier sixth man after starting for several teams early in his career. He’s played 11 seasons for seven teams and was among the three-point shooting leaders in 2009-10 while with Toronto. His career average is 11 points per game.

The Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard is one of the better three-point shooters at 39 percent for his eight year career, which has been with five teams. As a rookie, he started 42 games for the Orlando Magic team that lost to the Lakers in the 2009 Finals as he shot 40 percent on threes that season.

The undersized power forward from New Mexico played 13 seasons and averaged 9.3 points splitting between starting and coming off the bench. He averaged a double/double starting for the 76ers in 2003-04 and 14.1 starting for Houston in 2001-02.

The swingman from Boston College has carved out a nice career as a hustling role player, now with his fourth team in Milwaukee in nine seasons. His best season was with the Suns in 2011-12 when he averaged 12.7 points and 4.6 rebounds as he plays both forward positions and shooting guard.

The small forward from Arizona who played mostly with the Cavs and Warriors averaged 11.2 points in 10 seasons with his beat seasons in the mid-1990s when he averaged about 14 points over three seasons while missing just eight starts in three seasons. Injuries shortened his career.

The Kentucky star shooter played seven seasons in the NBA, including for the Bulls in 1985-86 when Michael Jordan was injured. Macy twice led the NBA in free throw shooting percentage and in four seasons to start his career in Phoenix averaged 10.6 points and four assists and 14.2 points in 1981-82.

Bulls selections at No. 22 or below in NBA draft

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NBA Draft: 10 notable players drafted at #22

The Bulls are not trading for DeMarcus Cousins. And no one likely is Thursday before the NBA draft.

But not many NBA executives expect Cousins to be with the Sacramento Kings very long, and probably not to begin next season.

Rumors of Cousins being traded - or not, in stern denials by the Kings — has become the big story of draft week, though it’s been around the NBA for much of the last season and active at the past trade deadline with numerous reports of a possible deal with the Boston Celtics.

That was squelched as George Karl replaced interim Tyrone Corbin. But it quickly began to get around that Karl wanted no part of Cousins, less for any personal dislike than for the uptempo, switching defensive sort of game Karl wanted to implement with the woebegone Kings. And not that Karl was wrong. After all, the Kings haven’t made the playoffs in nine years, five with Cousins. Karl is one of the game’s best turnaround coaches, though like many of those guys he gets you much better quickly sometimes amidst long term turmoil.

Though rumors with Boston were prevalent, likely because of general manager Danny Ainge’s eagerness to make another big splash in the personnel pool, Karl was quietly--or as quiet as he can be—urging the Kings to put together a package with his old Denver guys for Kenneth Faried, Ty Lawson and others. It never went anywhere given the Nuggets’ similar dysfunction. And now the thinking is the Kings will just make a deal for Lawson to assuage Karl.

But Cousins doesn’t forget. His “snake in the grass” emoji (bet you didn’t think I knew what it was. Actually didn’t. Had to look it up) was a big time warning sign that this isn’t going to end well. Plus, Karl has a history of wearing down his general managers until they get rid of guys they love and Karl doesn’t, like Kendall Gill in Seattle and Ray Allen in Milwaukee. Undisciplined and a poor practice player, Cousins isn’t likely to respond to the guy trying to run him out despite Karl’s denials after the stories were published. Cousins now also has told the Kings he doesn’t want to play center, which is where he’s best. The Kings will figure this out before too long, though probably after the draft.

But things do change quickly under that ownership. After all, who had Vlade Divac the next general manager? Especially when they asked him about the cap and he put on a San Francisco Giants hat.

As for Cousins—who actually does like to be called Boogie--Boston’s 16 and 28 and a bunch of guys they don’t much want likely won’t do it; nor will the Lakers’ No. 2 pick, which the Lakers are flummoxed about. The consensus around the NBA is Karl-Anthony Towns will go No. 1 to Minnesota and the Lakers will select Duke center Jahlil Okafor. But the Lakers still believe they are—or can be—Showtime. And Okafor is not, a 6-9 or 6-10 low post scorer without great athletic ability, putting them in a slowdown mode with 2014 No. 1 pick Julius Randle, a low post scorer without great athletic ability. Slowtime?

It’s why the Lakers are said still to be looking at the point guards, D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay. Is one the next Kobe? they keep asking themselves. Jerry West apparently is not telling them.

The Timberwolves, Lakers and 76ers are expected to use their picks. But then the Knicks at No. 4 have been much rumored to possibly trade down. One move making the rounds lately has them going to Denver and No. 7 for No. 4 and getting Jusuf Nurkic, the rugged big man the Nuggets got from the Bulls in the two-for-one swap for the rights to Doug McDermott.

Denver then would take one of the point guards, probably Mudiay, enabling them to move Lawson. The Knicks are said to like Kentucky’s Trey Lyles. They also could be interested in shooting big man Frank Kaminsky as Phil Jackson believes in having size with skill.

Boston with those two firsts is anxious to make a move or move up and you don’t hear of any untouchables. Head to the trade machine with them.

Watch Utah and Trey Burke. They’re still looking for a distributing point guard. There should be someone there at No. 12, like Cameron Payne. But they could make a move if there isn’t. They believe they are just that position away from making a big move into the playoffs.

If the Thunder at No. 14 cannot grab a point guard they like they’ve got some big guys they might consider moving even though the rumors have been primarily about reserve guards and swingmen they don’t much use.

The Mavericks at No. 21 are desperate to do something after basically releasing Rajon Rondo, who is essentially seeing his market disappearing. Rondo is said ready to take a one-year deal somewhere to try to reestablish his value.

Clearing space for a free agent like LaMarcus Aldridge or DeAndre Jordan? Kevin Love?

Though the Suns denied rumored interest in moving Eric Bledsoe, they have had a management shakeup and seem to be losing ground in the West. Similarly, for the Nets in the Eastern Conference who have the 29th pick thanks to what seemed like an unnecessary throw-in on the Joe Johnson deal, the swap of picks with Atlanta. You mean they take that salary and they have to give up something? Danny Ferry’s vindication continues.

Golden State wants to unload David Lee’s $15.5 million salary for next season and likely would throw in their No. 30 pick. Good luck with that. No. 30 is often considered the worst pick in the draft since it requires a guaranteed deal while there is no guarantee at No. 31, the first pick in the second round. So it’s not much of a sweetener. Though the Bulls did well with it. See: Jimmy Butler.

The 76ers with five second rounders obviously will try to move several. The Bulls infamously used six draft picks in the 2000 draft, which began their decent into the bottom of the NBA. So the 76ers also could end up with a late first as Nos. 35 and 37, two of their five, could be of interest. Boston has No. 33 as well and is trying to turn all three picks into a player or higher draft pick. The Bucks with No. 17 are said to be interested in making a move for shooting. And there’s Sacramento’s backup of shooting guards with Nik Stauskas behind Ben McLemore.

It’s tough, sometimes, to figure out just what is going on with the Kings amidst reports now of interest in trading Rudy Gay. Again, good luck, with him owed $40 million and grading out poorly in analytics (mid range shooter). Which doesn’t bode well for the Bulls, who need the Kings to get out of the bottom 10 in the lottery the next two seasons to get their draft pick. After that it becomes a second rounder.

Though Orlando has been linked to Croatia’s Mario Hezonja at No. 5 and he is considered a good prospect with toughness and shooting range, the Magic in hiring Scott Skiles have signaled a readiness to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them like Denver package their pick and a player, though for veteran talent given their surfeit of young players and lack of leadership.

Given Taj Gibson’s ankle surgery, previous knee surgeries for Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler’s restricted free agency, the Bulls are essentially out of any serious trade discussions, league sources say. Rival general managers say they have not heard the Bulls involved in any serious scenarios other than using their No. 22 pick.

And what the heck is Miami doing with Dwyane Wade, by the way?

Here’s a guy who sacrificed money twice so the team could improve, first by signing LeBron James and then big money to enable the Heat to make deals for Luol Deng and to retain Chris Bosh. Now they don’t want to pay him, the guy more the face of the franchise than anyone in their history? It’s amazing how little reaction there has been. Imagine the Bulls doing that to Jordan? The Lakers to Magic? The Celtics to Bird? Maybe Miami at No. 10 is planning something big and it’s all a ruse.

It could be one of the more intriguing draft days in recent years.

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NBA Draft: Which teams are looking to make a move?

Here we go. With the 22nd pick Thursday in the 2015 NBA draft, the Bulls…pass?

Certainly not, but if I could I would. Not just letting the pick go. If I were the Bulls, I’d try to trade the first round pick for a future first in, say, 2018 or 2019. Find someone who wants to get into this draft. Certainly, they’d want lottery protection and perhaps to No. 20 in a deal. That’s OK. I don’t see much help for the Bulls in this draft. The likelihood is that whomever is selected will sit on the bench all season.

Better to pick up another veteran with a minimum salary to fill that spot. The Bulls have done great with those kinds of signings, like Aaron Brooks, Nate Robinson and D.J. Augustin.

Not that the Bulls are loaded and a certainty to reach the 2016 NBA Finals. But the Bulls have a deep team with plenty of youth and no real openings in their depth chart.

The Bulls, effectively, will be trying to work two near rookies into the rotation next season in Doug McDermott, who basically didn’t play in his rookie season after minor early season surgery, and Nikola Mirotic, who wasn’t in the regular rotation until about midseason. Plus, there should be a regular role as well for Tony Snell, whose playing was in stops and starts. It’s time to find out whether to keep him going forward.

The Bulls prime offseason move has been the hiring of Fred Hoiberg.

Not so much that he is replacing former coach Tom Thibodeau, but that the Bulls likely will alter their style of play with more speed and pace and shooting. Plus, individual playing time will likely diminish.

The narrative has been the Bulls were overloaded in the front court and needed to create room for Mirotic to play. Thus a trade of Joakim Noah or Taj Gibson was reasonable, the speculation went. But that’s really unnecessary as Pau Gasol likely will play fewer minutes per game than last season while Noah could well come off the bench like Andre Iguodala with the Warriors. The Warriors and Iguodala showed starting doesn’t matter as much as playing your role and being a good teammate, and that coming off the bench can enhance your reputation and value as much as starting.

With Noah heading into the last season on his contract, coming off the bench as a center likely will make him more effective and valuable. Plus, with Gibson undergoing ankle surgery, he certainly is off the market as far as trades.

Though the Bulls were not said to be considering it, there was national speculation the Bulls could or would package their No. 22 pick with Gibson and move up in the draft. That’s obviously not possible with Gibson’s surgery, and it seems virtually certain the Bulls stay at No. 22 and use their pick.

Even with my suggestions to trade ahead. Imagine that.

The reason I suggest that is I believe this group has a two-year title window. The contracts of Derrick Rose, Gibson and Gasol expire after the 2016-17 season. I also think that’s another reason Jimmy Butler is considering a two-year deal. He likely sees a possible restructuring at that point. Obviously, if the Bulls win in that time things change and contracts are extended. But if they don’t, perhaps you move on and with the enhanced salary cap make a major move into free agency and then have draft picks for extra leverage and sweeteners to make deals.

Rose and Butler start in the backcourt and Butler will return. The only question is whether it’s for one, two, three or five years. They’ll be backed up by the newest Brooks/Robinson/Augustin as well as Snell.

The Bulls likely will try to resign and bring back Mike Dunleavy and he is said to be inclined to return. He’d be backed up by McDermott. Then you have the four big men—Gasol, Noah, Gibson and Mirotic—up front.

Kirk Hinrich likely will return on a player option along with E’Twaun Moore and Cameron Bairstow, who both have partial guarantees for next season.

That’s 13 players, and if the Bulls use their draft pick that’s 14. Given the Bulls will be well into the luxury tax with a multiplier on players brought in above that amount, they’ll likely keep the roster at 14.

So free agency probably will consist of a resolution with Butler for some period and later in the summer adding a backup guard. At this point, it doesn’t seem likely the Bulls can trade for a future pick.

The conventional wisdom is the Bulls would most like a point guard in the draft. But they won’t stretch to get one. Their success selecting players in the 20s has been built on taking the best player who falls to them no matter the position. They’ll probably lean to a point guard if it’s close, but they could select a player with a different skill. After all, if you’re not playing this season how much does it matter what position you are not playing at?

First, here are the players who certainly figure to be taken before the Bulls pick: Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis, Emanuel Mudiay, Justise Winslow, Trey Lyles, Cameron Payne, Mario Hezonja, Willie Cauley-Stein, Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky, Bobby Portis, Myles Turner, Devin Booker, Sam Dekker and perhaps Tyus Jones.

Here’s a look at 10 possible and hoped for choices:

Here’s a roundup of mock drafts and their picks for the Bulls at No. 22:

2015-draft-10-possible-bulls-picks

2015 Draft: 10 possible Bulls picks

Next act for the NBA is the future stars, and this 2015 draft on Thursday may have some.

There’s much anticipation and then often disappointment about recent NBA drafts because so many college freshman and teenagers, who dominate the top of these drafts, are not ready to step into a prime role in the NBA.

But this draft Thursday could prove an exception.

The general thinking for teams is they expect to get a  starter in the top five, a top six to seven rotation player from five through 10 and then after that in the rest of the first round to hope for an upset. It’s not that unusual, as  shown in Sunday’s Bulls.com draft story in a look back at the top drafts between 2003 and 2012.

Jimmy Butler, the No. 30 pick in 2011, is about to earn a maximum salary contract from the Bulls; however, players like Butler selected at the end of the first round are the exceptions.

But it is a potential star level top five in this draft with three big men and two point guards whom NBA executives say could be All-Stars within the next five years. There aren’t many drafts that boast that level of top talent.

The two top international players, center Kristaps Porzingis and wingman Mario Hezonja, are both regarded as can’t miss prospects despite traditional wariness about overhyped international players like Darko Milicic and Nikoloz Tskitishvili. There are players who supposedly can step in and help a good team, like Duke’s Justise Winslow and Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky. And there’ll be a run on point guards with teams like the Pacers, Thunder and Rockets in the market.

The Celtics and Lakers are the only teams with two first rounders, and most GMs expect the Celtics to be a big trade player this week in trying to move up and move players and one of the draft picks. The Celtics have multiple second rounders while the 76ers have five second rounders and certainly aren’t using all of them. And in an oddity, there are probably a half dozen left handed players who figure to be first round picks. Whatever that means.

Here’s a look at the best players by position:

top-5-draft-prospects-by-position

Top 5 Draft Prospects by Position

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