Chicago Bulls 2010 Draft Preview

Basketball Betting Lines

06/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite a pair of playoff appearances in his two years as coach in Chicago, Vinny Del Negro was dismissed and replaced with long-time assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, the defensive mastermind of the Boston Celtics.

The Bulls are certainly at the top of the LeBron James sweepstakes and hope to convince the superstar that teaming up with one of the game's best young point guards, Derrick Rose, and centers, Joakim Noah, will give him many opportunities to garner an NBA championship over the coming years.

So much of what Chicago will try and accomplish this offseason is tied to James' decision. If LeBron chooses a different destination, the Bulls will still have plenty of salary cap space to nab one of the other top names on the open market which makes their draft plans a virtual crapshoot.

You have to think the Bulls will go the best available route at the 17th pick and that could be an athletic shooting guard with upside like Kansas' Xavier Henry, a pure shooter like Oklahoma State's James Anderson or a nice wing player like Texas' Damion James.

Players under contract: G Kirk Hinrich; G Derrick Rose; F Luol Deng; F Taj Gibson; F James Johnson; C Joakim Noah

Free agents: G Jannero Pargo (unrestricted); G Flip Murray (unrestricted); G Acie Law (unrestricted); G Devin Brown (unrestricted); F Joe Alexander (unrestricted); F Hakim Warrick (unrestricted); C Brad Miller (unrestricted)

Draft picks: 1st round (17th overall)

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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