Personally, I find this to be unlikely, but the following image is floating around the internet from mullens32's twitter profile. The account is request only, so I've been unable to verify whether the update is legitimate or not. Also, there's no way to tell if it's the real B.J. Mullens or some random fan playing a joke.
Personally, I find the update difficult to believe and would assume it's an internet prankster. It's still so early in the process that it's hard to believe the Bulls have already given out a guarantee especially since it would mean they'd be keeping their pick and not trading it.
The idea that they'd guarantee anyone strikes me as absurd for that reason. Moving beyond that, Mullens isn't the type of guy the Bulls would traditionally look at. He didn't have success at the college level, he has questionable work ethic and coachability, and he's a project unlikely to give immediate returns.
On the other hand, the Bulls did give a second round guarantee to JamesOn Curry and honor it two seasons ago. So the Bulls are clearly willing to guarantee someone on some level. A second round guarantee makes much more sense than a first round one for several reasons though.
A player drafted in the second round has no incentive to go higher or lower because there is no salary scale. Thus, in theory, a second prospect could negotiate a better deal with a team who drafts him 50th than one who drafts him 35th. By limiting his workouts, he could force himself to fall later in the second round without penalizing himself whereas a first round prospect wouldn't be willing to do the same thing due to the loss of money falling down in the first round.
Still, if the rumor turned out to be true then I wouldn't complain. Simply put, there aren't a lot of 7 footers with athleticism and touch who are available at pick #16, and the ones who are there always have some red flags. He has potential to make him a top five pick in the draft. There aren't many great options available at #16, so why not swing for the fences?
-- Updated --
Chad Ford had this on his blog:
Ohio State center B.J. Mullens was slated to appear but pulled out of
the workout on Friday. His agent gave word to the Nets that he had a
promise in the Top 16 and was shutting down workouts. We'll see if the
agent is telling the truth on draft night.
A top 16 promise seems awfully strange doesn't it? Nothing is special about '16'. It's not in the loterry, it's not a round number. It seems like a lottery guaranatee or a top 15 guarantee would make a lot more sense to use than a top 16 guarantee unless the guarantee was at 16. Still, I have a hard time digesting that the Bulls would guarantee Mullens at this stage of the game.
Another possibility is that the Bulls already have a trade in place and that the team getting 16 wants Mullens.
Filed under: Draft Coverage
Tags: B.J. Mullens, chicago bulls, guarantee, nba, promise
I'm not surprised. Mullins is a name that keeps on popping up and he does fill a current need for scoring from the post (although his back to the basket skills need significant work.)
If he's drafted I hope the Bulls bring in a true Big Man's coach. I suspect a draft of Mullins also means an end for Gray in a Bulls uniform.
Maybe he meant Marko Jaric, and that he's going to Memphis. I realise the stupidity and lack of humour in what I just said, but that's what denial can do to a girl.
This is the guy I felt Bulls should draft all alone. Face it, Hansbrough, Johnson, and Blair all have flaws themselves. Hansbrough isn't your prototypical smooth looking big man like a Bosh or Stoudemire. He seems to play under the basket a lot with limited skills. At best, I see Hansbrough in the serviceable role of PJ Brown through his career. Then you have Johnson, it's redundant to draft him when you have enough "Forwards". We have Deng and Tyrus Thomas. At best, He'll provide some scoring inside and outside. You never know, he could come in the NBA and do a Tim Thomas, stand on the perimeter all day. Last, you have Blair, whom really is your prototypical banging, undersized "Power Forward". I say maximize that pick, don't draft Blair, instead, go after someone like Bass in free agency. He'll give more, especially after the toughness he displayed against the Nuggets. Now to reference NBADRAFT.NET, "The Bulls can afford to take a project such as Mullens with a young centerpiece in Rose running the show. Mullens is so big and athletic and after so many teams passed on DeAndre Jordan last year, it's unlikely they will make the same mistake again." True enough, Mullens may be a project but he's far from Deandre Jordan on every level. Deandre Jordan had some eye popping games last year and people expected him to be neutral. Point is, Mullens' skills don't pop out the woodwork and land at 16 all the time. You take him and coach him up. If you want a Johnson or Blair, just go through free agency, don't draft them because it's redundant. Mullens upside is rare.
That being said, I hear talks Mullens will go to Pistons or Thunder. He won't go to Chicago on draft night, that's unfortunate.
Think of Pau Gasol!
I see it as a, 'we don't really have a chance in 2010, so why build a talented base to help tempt a big time FA' pick. It's a swing for the fences, hope we get lucky pick in a strong role players draft. I don't like it, just because there's a high bust potential, when there are bigs who can come off the bench and contribute right away, with a rather high floor down the road. If they really want to develop another young big with tons of upside, they should be trying to trade up for Thabeet or Hill. I think Noah will be a strong post defender within the next couple years, and hopefully so will Asik if he ever comes over. So Thabeet, probably being not much more than a very strong defender, would likely not be worth the cost of moving up. It's looking like Hill can be had with the 9th or 10th pick now, so I say do that. Mullens just has too many question marks.
By the way, MJ land could mean the Bobcats, as well. It would be a bad pick for them, unless they see him as a PF in the NBA, but I'm not sure I expect much else from MJ the GM.
If he's still there at #26, I say go for it. There will probably still be people on the board that I'd rather have in red (like Jerebko, or Budinger, or Ellington), but he'd be hard to pass up.
It seems to me, both the Warriors and the Knicks are looking for PG at 7 and 8, and Hinrich is the kind of in control player, capable of pushing the tempo and shooting the ball when it's there that both D'Antoni and Nelson would like. From what I've been reading, Nelson wants a veteran presence, as well, and D'Antoni certainly had good luck with a similarly aged vet PG in the past.
I think with either, the question may more be, if they'd be interested in the first place, what will you take from us besides #7/#8 rather than what else can you give us.
I should also mention, trading up to that point, we could also opt for Henderson instead. If we lose BG, he could be pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the best man we could come out of this draft with. I'm just more infatuated with Hill because of our big man situation for the last number of years. But if we were to trade Hinrich, and if BG doesn't resign, SG might become the biggest need very quickly. And honestly, if BG doesn't come back, I'd rather trade Hinrich for a prospect than have him play SG for another year.
Then of course, the Grizzlies are actively shopping their pick because they want Rubio, but he doesn't want anything to do with them. I would think they might have some interest in Hinrich. I admit it's highly unlikely, but coming out with Harden would be amazing, though I'd question what else we'd be giving up and if he's worth the price. I'm afraid it would have to be TT or Noah, and I don't like that if we don't get a big out of it. Of course if we get to keep #16 and get Blair/Johnson/Lawal, and we're still in a good financial situation, we'd have to be tempting for Bosh and Amare.
My fear is that Mullens will rise up the draft board as the date approaches and never makes it to #16
I think he is in play starting with Charlotte at #12, Indiana at #13 maybe, Phoenox at #14 or Detroit at #15 or in a trade.
There is even a rumor that if the point guards are gone at #8 that the Knicks might be interested.
The guarantee at #16 comment is indeed curious and gives me hope that the Bulls and I are on the same wavelength.
If we get Mullens at #16 it will be a homerun, at least until we see him play in the regular season.