The Chicago Bulls lost in the LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh sweepstakes, but that didn't stop them from having what could be the best offseasons in franchise history.
And to think this all started with a stroke of luck—the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery. The Bulls were projected to have the ninth pick in the 08' draft, so their odds of landing the top selection were slim...and then none. But somehow, some way, the Bulls came away with the top pick and point guard Derrick Rose, thus beginning their return to Eastern Conference Prominence.
Along with Rose, the Bulls hit it big in the 2007 lottery with center Joakim Noah, and when healthy have one of the league's best spot shooters in Luol Deng, whom they acquired in the 2004 draft from Phoenix. To go along with those three, the Bulls found a gem late in the first round of the 2009 draft in All-Rookie forward Taj Gibson.
With those building blocks in place, the Bulls approached this offseason as well as any team in the NBA, and prepared themselves to sign two max contracts on the free agent market. When that plan fell to the wayside, the Bulls turned their attention to the next best thing&m ...
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Article written by Sayre Bedinger
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October 1st, 2010 by Sayre Bedinger Leave a reply »
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