I really like the picks with a little bit of distance. I think I went shooting guard crazy for a minute there but long-term franchise success is made using RC Buford like moves. That's exactly what happened today. Edit: Okay, Jesus Christ, have you guys seen Mirotic's clips? His game is beautiful. [video=youtube;TdGCimlMzm8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdGCimlMzm8[/video] [video=youtube;TRY5Y0dLQNc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRY5Y0dLQNc[/video] [video=youtube;sUh6UsarLBY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUh6UsarLBY[/video] Now I'm excited. Finishing with both hands; post moves; the little floater; and his gorgeous shot . . . that's all going to work in the NBA. He looks like a "small forward" in the Durant mode with his slight frame, though obviously that's going to change in time. The intertubes tell me that he had a breakout season in the ACB. Real Madrid had four seasoned vets at power forward and he beat them out and earned a consistent twenty minutes by the end of the season. He put up good numbers too: 8.1 points; 52.4% from the field; 43.5% from three; 81.6% ft; 3.8 boards; .6a; .7s.; .4b. DraftExpress says that he has only two more years on his ACB contract and that there are questions about whether he ever wanted to come to the US. ESPN was reporting that he has four years left. It's either four years or he isn't thrilled about playing in the NBA, otherwise someone would have drafted him earlier. Regardless, you have to like the pick. Also, Jimmy Butler is saying in interviews that he expects that he will have to learn how to play shooting guard if he wants to stick in the league for a long time, so perhaps the Bulls have found an additional "weapon" to bring into next season.
Well, you gotta start with the fact that they had the 28th, 30th and 43rd picks. Next, while everyone knows the Bulls have a hole at SG, the draft didn't figure to plug it. They're a contending team with little need for end-of-bench rookies clogging up their roster. Ideally, they wanted to trade the picks as part of a SG upgrade. Didn't happen. On the plus side, other than SJax, none of the more talked about SG upgrades moved teams. So they traded #28 and #43 for the rights to Mirotic. I thought that under the circumstances, it was a very good move. From what I've read and heard, Mirotic is a top-10 prospect except for the fact that he's not available for a couple years. This Kukoc/Asik-type situation suits the Bulls just fine. At #30 they pick Jimmy Butler. Love the pick. Most folks will talk about his amazing "Blindside II" life story. I like him as a basketball player. The two words most often associated with Butler are versatility and defense...good words. Athletically, he has a very nice combination of speed, strength and hops. From all indications, he'll work his ass off to improve. He could make Brewer more expendable in pursuit of the SG fix. Good, smart job.
How cool would it be if we retained Raz Butler and found a way to swing for Caron Butler. One can never have too many Butlers.
I think it's worth noting that the trade for Mirotic was really a four way trade (Houston, Minny, Bulls, Heat). It was way too complicated to get done and made no sense in individual segments. I'm guessing the Bulls and Heat didn't want the appearance that they were dealing with each other -- especially with the Heat ending up with a guard (Norris Cole) at the end of the transaction.
Dear fellow posters: I am obsessed with Mirotic. He looks like he has the makings of an all-star. I'm not going to be able to wait four years. Please advise. ~~ SST So Mirotic has more game film up on youtube than Alec Burks, Marshon Brooks, and Klay Thompson combined. And all of it is pretty awesome. This clip is from this past season, unlike the last clips which were a year earlier. He's put a little bit of weight on over the last year. Comparing him to Hedo is selling short -- even with how good Hedo was back in the day. Mirotic has a knack for the game of basketball that Hedo never had. He's just so skilled . . . [video=youtube;B9ps32C3iM8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ps32C3iM8[/video] A couple things in this clip: ACB is perfect for developing young players. Joel Freeland isn't a world beater but he's played a ton of ball. I can't think of any better training for our young power forward than getting beat (at :35) and then coming back to block Freeland (1:35). And how sweet is that play at 2:00? This clip has Brian Skinner guarding him for a heart beat. (Not very pretty.) [video=youtube;U2-7snS33WY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2-7snS33WY[/video] This clip is just highlights . . . which is less helpful. But check out how many of them feature Mirotic finishing with his left hand. Also the hook at 1:35 is pretty darn silly. [video=youtube;atWwTxrkN7k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atWwTxrkN7k[/video]
Maybe Michael Sweetney was in college before YouTube, but there would be some awesome clips of him... ;-) Seriously, though, the clips of Rudy Fernandez as a Euro player are awesome, too. His upside might be Dirk! Or it could be Bargnani.
Then if one of them did something wrong and we were not sure which one it was, we could say, "The Butler did it."
Well yeah. I'm just amazed that it's possible we could have landed an elite player with the 28th and a second rounder. That's just silly. Who knows how he'll continue to develop. That's true with all players. I've figured out my player comparison: Antawn Jamison with a more refined outside shot.
Sorry, the wink thing is insufficient. You're gonna give poor SST a stroke or somethin' with this kind of talk. ;-) (also probably insufficient)
If Bulls think they could get Mirotic in 2 years, I'm fully on-board. If they can't bring him over, I think we may regret on passing on Jordan Hamilton.
[video=youtube;ZR6OEv6IAHc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6OEv6IAHc[/video] One last clip of basketball porn and then I'm done for day one of the Mirotic era. This is a clip of him playing one on one with Detlef Schrempf at a clinic when he was 17. Mirotic's shot wasn't there yet, but he's already such a fluid athlete. Find me the clips of Taj Gibson or Carlos Boozer making these types of moves.
Look at the competition. Just sayin'... Tyson Chandler was great against HS opponents. I remember reading about his 3pt shot/range when we drafted him. Lol?
Wait tyson used to have 3pt range? lol. I heard that he had excellent handles cuz he used to be a guard but then got that insane ass growth spurt
