Like most of them, he has struggled.
He isn`t playing much, about 13 minutes per game. In fact, 16 of the first-round draft picks are playing more.
He has had trouble adjusting to a new system, a new coach and teammates and going from the big scorer to a role player coming off the bench.
And like all the first-round draft choices, he hasn`t shot well, about 43 percent while averaging 5.1 points. But among the 13 guards and scoring forwards taken in the first round, that`s not bad. Only two shot better than that and none better than 48 percent.
The Bulls insist they`re not unhappy with their first-round selection in the 1990 draft, Dennis Hopson.
”We`re much better off with Dennis than anyone we could have taken with that pick,” said Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause. ” `Hoppy` is better than anyone who was available then. And you have to remember, we didn`t want to add a player to our team.”
So while Hopson, actually a fourth-year forward from Ohio State, has not been the bench scorer the Bulls proclaimed he would be and lately has been assigned mostly a defensive role, the Bulls say they`re still better off.
And they may be right.
The Bulls traded their No. 1 pick in the 1990 draft (22nd overall), along with a pair of second-rounders, to the New Jersey Nets for Hopson. Who would they have taken if they kept the pick?
Krause wouldn`t say, but it`s not too hard to figure the possibilities.
The Nets used the pick for Connecticut guard Tate George, whom the Bulls didn`t care for. The Bulls probably would have taken St. Louis forward Anthony Bonner, who went to Sacramento at No. 23.
But he opened the season with a stress fracture of the foot and probably never would have played much with the Bulls. The Bulls would have been tempted by Florida center Dwayne Schintzius, who went 24th to San Antonio, but that would have given them four centers. They were only mildly interested in one other first-rounder, Alaa Abdelnaby, who has played little in Portland.
It`s possible they would have taken Iowa`s Les Jepsen, who went first in the second round to Golden State but who has played little there.
Had the Bulls not selected Yugoslav Toni Kukoc with the 29th pick in the draft, they probably would have selected from among Georgia Tech`s Brian Oliver, Dartmouth center Walter Palmer and Arizona forward Jud Buechler, none of whom figured to make the team.
Which still doesn`t make the Kukoc selection a poor one, even if he elects to play in Europe for two to five years.
Few second-rounders would have made the team, and Kukoc was taken primarily as a future hope, much like the Celtics did with Larry Bird and the Dallas Cowboys in football did with Roger Staubach. Dallas waited five years, and Staubach came back at 27 to have a Hall-of-Fame career.
No one`s predicting that for Kukoc, although he could be a solid player.
Which is what the Bulls didn`t figure to get from the draft, which poses numerous problems-like just when a player can help.
”It`s a tough adjustment,” says former Bulls player personnel director Billy McKinney. ”For many guys, it takes two to three years.”
That`s especially true with a good team, because a rookie won`t get much playing time, and it`s a revelation when he does. ”I never realized how good the defense was,” said Bulls second-year guard B.J. Armstrong. ”It`s so much harder than in college to do what you want to do.”
Also, salary can be a problem. The first selection, Syracuse`s Derrick Coleman, signed for about $3 million per year, but even the last first-rounder, Elden Campbell, is making about $500,000 per year.
Bulls starting guard John Paxson doesn`t even earn that much, which can cause dissension among veterans when they see a rookie sitting and earning more than they do. And substantial rookie salaries also can get in the way of salary-cap renegotiations, like the Bulls are trying with Scottie Pippen.
”It`s one thing that has scared some guys away from the draft,” said Pacers GM Donnie Walsh. ”That`s why you`re seeing a lot of teams deal draft choices.”
That is what Portland has done to build its team, and what the Pistons often have done.
Rookies mostly are just rookies.
Few have had any impact this year, although with a starting job at lowly New Jersey, Coleman often has been impressive. He`s the top rookie scorer, 46th best in the league.
But mostly it has been hard times.
Seattle`s cocky Gary Payton, No. 2 in the draft, has found himself humbled.
”I never said I was going to come in and take over the world,” Payton said recently, long after saying such things when drafted. He recently was benched after starting most of the season amid talk of a bad attitide.
The Hawks gave Rumeal Robinson the starting point guard job, and he gave it back in a turnover fest. Denver`s Chris Jackson went back to the bench after being unable to displace Michael Adams or play alongside him. Orlando`s Dennis Scott, the best shooter in the crop, is hitting 41 percent of his shots.
Kendall Gill is No. 3 on the depth chart at his shooting guard position, so he`s hitting about 40 percent from point guard while the Clippers` Bo Kimble, the big scorer from Loyola Marymount, hasn`t yet cracked the 40 percent barrier.
Of course, there have been some successes besides Coleman.
Boston broke out of a drafting slump with Jacksonville`s Dee Brown, who has helped invigorate their game and is the draft`s best shooting guard at 48 percent. And Texas` Travis Mays looks like he`ll be a big-time scorer for the Kings.
Of course, the Bulls also think they got a steal in free agent Scott Williams, whom they were considering with their No. 2 pick, while the Cavaliers may have done the best with CBA free agent Henry James, averaging 11 points and shooting 47 percent with a high game of 25.
