Let the rebuilding begin.
And it will get underway with a shooting guard who isn’t considered much of an outside shooter, but is a fabulous dunker and comes out of college early after posting a two-season average of 17.5 points a game.
Did anyone say the Next Jordan?
OK, nobody quite said that.
But the Bulls’ No. 1 pick in Wednesday’s draft, Oregon State’s Corey Benjamin, is a 6-foot-6-inch, 200-pound guard who has many of the characteristics Jordan had coming out of college.
“He’ll get people excited,” Bulls general manager Jerry Krause said. “People will see him jump and run. This guy is a quality athlete. He’s a young player who’s going to need to be brought along. He’s just a college sophomore. This is not Babe Ruth here. But we got a fine prospect who has size, quickness and athleticism.”
Lots of it.
More than a third of Benjamin’s field goals last season were dunks, and he’s also a competent three-point shooter, hitting more than 30 percent. But he’s not nearly as mature or refined as Jordan was coming out of North Carolina in 1984. Most feel Benjamin, 20, is not ready for the NBA after only two years in college.
“We are very happy,” Krause said. “Corey Benjamin is a young man we didn’t think would get to us in this draft. We thought he would go a lot higher than we picked. He’s a young man who’s going to learn about the game. He’s an explosive jumper. He’s extremely quick. He’s got great end-to-end speed, a fine body.
“We’ve checked up, down and backwards on his character. Everything we’ve found is he’s a fine young man. At that pick, we felt he was the best player. We were very, very happy.
“He was young, he’s just a sophomore. Youth fell in the draft,” said Krause, noting how none of the high school players went before Al Harrington at No. 25 to Indiana. “The smile on my face is real big now. We think this is a youngster that has a chance to be a really good player for us.”
He is the first shooting guard drafted by the Bulls since Jordan was taken third in 1984, and the first guard since B.J. Armstrong was taken with the 18th pick in 1989.
“I’m excited,” said Benjamin from his home in California. “It can’t get better than this. I think I was the (most fortunate) pick in the draft.
“I like to get to the basket,” Benjamin said about his style of play. “If not, I can shoot the ball. I have to work (on my outside shot). I (haven’t played) the game so long (that my shot) shouldn’t be respected. I do what needs to be done, the little work, everything for the team. I can play the two (shooting guard) and three (small forward). I can bring the ball up too.”
Benjamin admitted he’ll have some studying to do for the Bulls’ offense, but said he’s excited to be with the team.
“I’ve been following the Bulls,” Benjamin said. “I follow everything they do. I wound up in a great situation where I can learn from great players . . . if they stay.”
Benjamin admitted he thought he’d go earlier in the draft, somewhere between picks No. 13-19, but said he’s not complaining about being picked by the Bulls.
“The only thing I can say is (I hope the team will) stay together,” Benjamin said.
The larger question, perhaps, is what this all signals.
Does it mean the Bulls expect Jordan to retire before next season and want to have a shooting guard in place? Or that Benjamin, who led his team in scoring and rebounding, will get a chance to develop by playing behind Jordan.
Or will it anger Jordan.
He may feel with all the potential needs the Bulls have, why, if he were to return, would they use their top draft pick on a shooting guard?
The Bulls then picked North Carolina point guard Shammond Williams at No. 34, fifth in the second round, with one of the draft picks they acquired from the Golden State Warriors for Jason Caffey.
The Bulls then traded Williams to Atlanta for 6-4 Texas Tech shooting guard Cory Carr, 22, a four-year player who is regarded as a good defender.
“He’s really strong,” Krause said. “He reminds you of a bigger version of Joe Dumars. He’s an excellent athlete, a fine defender.”
The Bulls also received second-round picks in 1999 and 2000 from Atlanta.
With their final pick, No. 58 in the second round, the Bulls selected Michigan forward Maceo Baston, a good shotblocker who set the Michigan career record for field goal percentage. He is 23 and played all four years in college.
Baston averaged 10.6 points for his Wolverines career and was one of two Michigan players, along with Roy Tarpley, to finish his career with at least 1,300 points, 800 rebounds and 100 blocks.
Krause said he expects Baston to play in Europe next season.
