With the Bulls slated to pick 12th overall in Wednesday’s NBA draft, fans may be pessimistic about the team’s chances to land an impact player (insert jokes here about VP of operations Arturas Karnisovas).
But history shows it’s possible.
This week’s High Five looks at the top Bulls players drafted outside the top 10. As a note of optimism, they might have scored with last year’s 11th overall pick, Hinsdale’s Matas Buzelis. And Ayo Dosunmu was a steal at No. 38 in 2021.
5. Ron Artest
Although he played only two-plus seasons for the Bulls, Artest was a gritty contributor on some really bad Tim Floyd-coached teams.
Selected 16th overall out of St. John’s in the 1999 draft, Artest averaged 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 175 games before being traded to Indiana in the middle of the 2001-02 season.
4. B.J. Armstrong
In his second season, the 18th pick out of Iowa in 1989 came off the bench while helping Michael Jordan and Co. win the first of three straight state NBA championships.
Armstrong started during the third title run, and developed into a team leader in the first season after Jordan briefly retired. A starter in the 1994 all-star game, he missed one regular-season game in six seasons with the Bulls before leaving the team when he was chosen by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 expansion draft.
3. Norm Van Lier
The Bulls selected Van Lier in the third round of the 1969 draft, 34th overall, but traded him to Cincinnati after training camp.
Van Lier was traded back to the Bulls during the 1971-72 season and formed an epic backcourt tandem with Jerry Sloan. Van Lier was selected to three all-star teams before playing his final season with Milwaukee in 1978-79.
He was named to the NBA’s first-team all-defensive team three times while averaging 12.2 points, 6.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds in seven seasons with the Bulls.
2. Toni Kukoc
Drafted 29th overall in the second round in 1990, Kukoc played in Europe before joining the Bulls for the 1993-94 season. Right after the first three-peat and Jordan’s surprising retirement announcement.
Kukoc became a core member of the second three-peat. He shined off the bench and was the NBA’s sixth man of the year for the 1995-96 season.
Kukoc, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, averaged 14.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in seven seasons with the Bulls.
1. Jimmy Butler
The Bulls were more than willing to grab him 30th overall out of Marquette in the 2011 draft.
Butler became a star with the Bulls, earning all-star game selections in three of his six seasons with the team while consistently being among league leaders in minutes played.
Butler averaged 15.6 points and 4.8 rebounds with the Bulls, and was one of the league’s top defenders before being traded to Minnesota after the 2016-17 season.