The Chicago Bulls are projected to select French guard Evan Fournier with the 29th overall pick in the latest mock draft from Sport Illustrated's Sam Amick. The general expectation in the industry is that the Bulls will use their first round pick to address issues in the backcourt if they don't end up using the pick in a trade.
With point guard and 2010-11 MVP Derrick Rose sidelined 8-to-12 months after tearing his ACL in the playoffs, and with shooting guard Richard Hamilton showing his age (34) during an injury-filled season, the Bulls could use another scorer in their backcourt. There's no way of telling just yet whether Fournier can be the penetrating, playmaking perimeter threat in the NBA that he has been while playing for France, but he's worth gambling on here.
Last year, the Bulls nabbed a foreign player in the draft by acquiring Serbian forward Nikola Mirotic from the Houston Rockets. He's still playing in Europe at the moment, but he's considered to be a potentially important part of Chicago's future.
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