Currently, the Chicago Bulls are largely comprised of players they traded for or signed. Zach LaVine joined the team via trade, as did Nikola Vucevic, and guys like DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, and Andre Drummond were all signed. They have some young players developed and drafted by the team, but right now, they’re all role players.
Patrick Williams, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu have potential, but none are stars quite yet. Chicago has failed to draft legitimate star players for the past decade. The last star they drafted was in 2011 when they picked Jimmy Butler, who is now leading the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report recently concocted a 2011 NBA Re-Draft, and Butler, who the Bulls originally selected at pick 30, went second overall.
“Jimmy Butler had already smashed his draft position before he joined the Miami Heat ahead of the 2019-20 season, but what he’s done there makes him a top-two pick in the re-draft.
“Over the course of his four seasons with Miami, Butler has averaged 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.8 steals, with a 60.9 true shooting percentage. But of course, that doesn’t begin to tell the whole story.
“Playoff Jimmy is who really pushes him up this imaginary draft board. Few players elevate their games for the postseason in more thorough and electrifying fashion,” Bailey wrote.
And while Butler has moved on from the Bulls, Bailey gave Chicago some credit for molding him into the player he is today.
“There’s maybe an argument that Butler doesn’t become the player he is without going to a competitive team like the Chicago Bulls and making a few other stops before landing in Miami, but I’d happily bet on his determination from any draft slot,” wrote Bailey.
Bulls fans may be disappointed that Butler isn’t in Chicago anymore, but the fact that they landed a talent of his caliber with the 30th pick is impressive in its own right.
