[Note by your friendly BullsBlogger, 06/24/09 1:27 PM CDT: Well, someone has to look at this part of the draft, right? For what it's worth (not much), in the couple mock drafts I participated in I selected Sam Young in one, and Chase Budinger (when Young was gone) in another -ed.]

Hopefully it's better than Stephen A. Smith's

Starting premises

1. Here's what I think about this draft. None of the guys we're likely to get at the #16 pick really excite me. Yet, it might have decent value in trade. I hope to god we can package the pick with players to get Bosh, Amare, or hell, even Kevin Love.

2. I don't see any realistic option James Harden or Blake Griffin, who are the only guys I'd be animated to move up to get.

Thus, in my ideal world, we'd be left with the #26 pick after trading the #16 pick.We haven't devoted as much thought about what to do there.

At #26, the best value I see left on most boards is Chase Budinger. He seems like an obvious fit for the Bulls. He's an excellent, floor spacing shooter, and not a terrible distributor. Compared to the other SG prospects we've talked about, he produced similar or better, but with less good teammates around him. He measures out quite well athletically.  So he's the guy. If he's not there, I don't have a problem with Ellington or even Jermaine Taylor. But while Buddinger was probably overrated as a lottery pick, he seems to have fallen further than he should.

Next, I see several players that look worth a shot in the second round, and several reasons to pick up a second rounder to get them.

First, the Bulls need to fill out their roster and will be under the gun financially. Second rounders are the cheapest way to fill out your roster.

Second, there are several guys there who fit the profile for NBA success. My prime target would be Jeff Pendergraph. If you compare his size and athleticism to successful NBA players, he compares very well to guys like Okafor, Horford, and even Amare. That is, he's not as good as Amare, but he's definitely got and NBA body. Second, he's been talked about up and down as a tireless worker. He seems like the prototype 2nd round steal, and would be at a need position. Trade a future 2nd and get him. We'll need depth up front.

If, for some reason, we don't have the #26 pick, Danny Green and Jermaine Taylor both look like they may be there in the second round, and both look like they've got NBA bodies, athleticism, and skills. Again, the cost is very low, and, we need to fill the roster, and they appear to have (for second round picks) relatively good profiles.

So in summary, this might be a weak draft, but I see particular guys that are worth going and taking a flyer on, given that the cost of doing so is low.

If we come out of tomorrow night with

1. A trade of #16 + players for a better frontcourt

2. Buddinger to space the floor in a few minutes

3. A decent chance to make it cheapo like Pendergraph

So that's my thinking on what a successful (in somewhat realistic terms) draft would look like. Now if we can trade Lebrond for #26, I'm all for that too.