All Bull - Chicago Bulls

With more room to work with on the blog this year, it's a good time to institute the Daily Herald's first NBA expanded mock draft. The real one is approaching quickly on June 25.

These picks are based somewhat on predicting what could happen, but also include my personal recommendations. Keep in mind that while plenty of highlights are available on YouTube of these guys, there aren't as many lowlights out there.

1. Los Angeles Clippers - Blake Griffin, 6-10, F, Oklahoma.
This is a no-doubter. With his explosiveness and shooting touch, Griffin could end up bringing an offensive game similar to Amare Stoudemire.

2. Memphis Grizzlies - Hasheem Thabeet, 7-2, C, Connecticut.

Bulls predraft workouts continued Tuesday with six players. The most notable was Wake Forest point guard Jeff Teague, who has a good chance of going higher than No. 16 in the first round.

Others at the Berto Center’s all-guard workout were VCU’s Eric Maynor, Florida’s Nick Calathes, 5-8 David Holston from Chicago State, Southern Illinois’ Bryan Mullins and Iowa State’s Tasheed Carr.

It's interesting that so many guards from ACC country are vying for spots in the first round, such as Teague, Maynor (not the ACC, but the same region), North Carolina’s Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, along with Duke’s Gerald Henderson. Florida State’s Toney Douglas could probably join that group.

An intense year of NBA playoffs ended without much drama on Sunday as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out Orlando on the road in Game 5.

Go ahead and congratulate Kobe Bryant for being the catalyst in L.A.’s 10th NBA title. He averaged 32.4 points in the Finals -- to go with 7.4 assists, believe it or not -- and 30.2 points in the playoffs overall.

But it’s a mistake to say this championship is Kobe’s redemption; proof that he really can win a title without Shaquille O’Neal.

An intense year of NBA playoffs ended without much drama on Sunday as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out Orlando on the road in Game 5.

Go ahead and congratulate Kobe Bryant for being the catalyst in L.A.’s 10th NBA title. He averaged 32.4 points in the Finals -- to go with 7.4 assists, believe it or not -- and 30.2 points in the playoffs overall.

But it’s a mistake to say this championship is Kobe’s redemption; proof that he really can win a title without Shaquille O’Neal.

One of the most interesting features relating to the NBA draft is the sortable predraft camp measurement and testing grid at DraftExpress.com.

The speed, strength, jumping and agility tests for this year went up a few days ago. The grid has data going back 10 years or more, so you can see how this group compares to past draft candidates. LeBron James didn’t take any of the tests in 2003, by the way, so don’t bother looking.

Here are some thoughts that stand out about the Class of 2009. The Bulls have the No. 16 and 26 picks:

--First of all, where are all the athletes? The only player with a maximum vertical leap of 40 inches was 6-foot Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn.

So, the Kobe puppet got the last laugh. His human likeness will be opening the NBA Finals on Thursday when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Orlando Magic.

Kobe’s puppet roommate, LeBron James, will be home recovering from jaw surgery, after which he can continue to explain why refusing to shake hands or speak to the media after a playoff elimination game is not poor sportsmanship.

While he’s at it, James might want to expand on his earlier claim that the Cavaliers never disrespected the game with their mock photo shoots or air guitar antics during the regular season. The game disrespected the Cavs during the Eastern Conference finals, but they’ll be back strong next year, no doubt.

At the start of the season, there were still plenty of questions about LeBron James’ supporting cast. The big men were getting old, Wally Szczerbiak seemed to be losing his skills fast and it remained to be seen how a shoot-first point guard like Mo Williams would fit next to James.

There was nothing but smooth sailing during the regular season, though, as Cleveland cruised to 66 wins, celebrating and showboating like the old Saturday morning Harlem Globetrotters every step of the way.

So what happened in the Eastern Conference finals against Orlando? Well, the Magic definitely matched up well, especially on the front line, and did a good job of turning the Cavaliers back into a one-man team.

PIETRUS, LEWIS MADE THE DIFFERENCE

The NBA’s Chicago predraft camp wrapped up today at the Attack Athletics facility on the near West Side. DraftExpress.com, which does a very thorough job of covering the draft, is already out with a list of official heights and measurements of the top guys. Here are a few interesting numbers:

--Pittsburgh’s DeJaun Blair is one of the more intriguing athletes in the draft. He was one of the best low-post scorers in college basketball last year (15.7 ppg, 59.3 FG pct.), despite measuring just 6-foot-6 ½ in shoes. He has an eye-opening 7-2 wingspan, however, and a better standing reach than likely No. 1 pick Blake Griffin.
Tough to tell where Blair will go in the draft. Some projections have him in the top 10, others have him still on the board for the Bulls at No. 16.

The NBA predraft camp returned to Chicago today after four years in Orlando, but in a much different form. There are no more games played by teams of borderline draft prospects, which was the tradition for at least 15 years.

In the past, the projected top 15 picks would be measured, checked out medically and tested in several drills, but not expected to play in the games. This year, all players invited to the camp will be given that treatment.

From what I’ve heard, NBA teams were frustrated by how the league handled invitations to the camp. The projected top 15 picks were welcome to go through the tests and measurements only.

The NBA draft lottery is Tuesday night and for just the second time in 11 years, the Bulls are not involved. Even when they made the playoffs, they had the Knicks' pick two years in a row in 2006 and '07 from the Eddy Curry trade.

They will have a rooting interest, though, because this appears to be a one-man draft. In the short-term, Oklahoma's Blake Griffin seems to be well ahead of the class. The rest of the top five could include Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, who is under contract in Europe; UConn center Hasheem Thabeet, Arizona PF Jordan Hill and Arizona State SG James Harden.

If the Thunder wins the lottery, Griffin will join Derrick Rose as the second straight No. 1 pick to play in his home town.