Snell of Success and Gator Aid

As I previewed this draft, I mentioned how the lesson taught to everyone these past NBA Finals is that you need good shooters to win a title.  Tom Thibodeau agreed, so that's the direction the Bulls went in during Thursday's draft.  Some proven talent and veteran leadership from a winning program proved to be what the Bulls pursued and got.  Hopefully, they'll eventually be part of a core that helped the team win another championship.

In my preview, I mentioned that if the Bulls wanted to try for a shooter and Sergey Karasev was off the board, they should go for Tony Snell, the junior from New Mexico.  Sure enough, Karasev went to Cleveland just before the Bulls were set to pick, so Snell became their selection instead.  Snell's main selling point is his smooth-to-a-fault shooting stroke, something the Bulls kind of got with Marco Belinelli, but haven't truly possessed since Kyle Korver.  This pick also means they don't need Belinelli anymore.  Instead, they've found a cheaper, younger player who could become the rare rookie that makes an immediate impact in Thibodeau's system.  When he gets into games, they'll have to do everything in their power to create open looks for him. 

As every basketball fan should know, an explosive dunk can only be rivaled by a hot shooter from downtown when it comes to energizing the crowd.  From now on, Snell will be the player to do that.  More importantly, he will provide a big boost in offense to a team that was severely lacking in scoring at times last year.  Thibodeau's strict defensive philosophy will only take the Bulls so far if the other end isn't producing.  I know Thibodeau's stance on playing rookies, but he would be crazy to sit Snell on the bench regularly.  Here's hoping he has a great preseason so it won't even become a question.

The rookie more likely to be riding the bench this year is Erik Murphy, who just finished his senior season at Florida.  In fact, don't be surprised if he's not even on the roster come Opening Night.  He has connections in Finland, which could mean he plays overseas this year instead of the NBA.  On the other hand, it's been rare for the Bulls not to sign even second-round picks in the last decade, so my money is on him playing here.

A 6-10 power forward with a great 3-point shot, comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki come to mind.  He has also shown to improve as a rebounder and defender after building up his playing weight to 240.  Since the Bulls already drafted a shooter in Snell and have an All-Star defender and rebounder in Joakim Noah, Murphy is more likely to see the floor during garbage minutes, at least during his first season.  In the meantime, he can work on his weaknesses, which include a lack of speed for NBA players at his position and being weak as a defender and rebounder despite building his strength.  At the very least, he'll get to observe firsthand what it takes to become a tenured, productive player in this league.  If he's lucky, he'll be able to do the same.  You can only do so much with your body though.

Now that the Bulls have their young players in place, it's time to move on to free agency.  Will Nazr Mohammed return like many local sportswriters believe he will?  What new faces will we have to get accustomed to?  I'll be on top of it throughout July.  Until then, keep working on that shot.