Despite their inauspicious end to the 2012 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls have clearly ascended to the top of the Eastern Conference along with the Miami Heat, and with the organization turning to the 2012 NBA Draft, SB Nation's Tom Ziller has taken the time to look back on NBA Draft picks from 2007-2010. It's an exercise that is often overlooked and cast aside in favor of knee-jerk reactions to the most recent picks, but thoughtful evaluations of prior drafts often provides a greater perspective on how well the GM and scouting staff assessed the landscape relative to their pick position.
Here is a quick recap of the Bulls picks from each year (click on each draft grade link for Ziller's analysis for each team):
2007 NBA Draft Grade, Chicago Bulls: A
Joakim Noah (9), Aaron Gray (49), JamesOn Curry (51)
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2008 NBA Draft Grade, Chicago Bulls: A+
Derrick Rose (1), Omer Asik (36)
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2009 NBA Draft Grade, Chicago Bulls: A-
James Johnson (16), Taj Gibson (26)
A largely home-grown team like the Bulls should be something that gives Chicago fans hope for the future, but a lot of that recent production is also founded on a lottery-ball miracle that presented Derrick Rose to the franchise with a bow on top. Can the front office continue to find late-round gems to bolster depth in anticipation of Rose's return? At least the last few years worth of evidence provides a positive trend.
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