The Chicago Bulls selected Tony Snell out of New Mexico tonight with the 20th pick in the NBA Draft. Snell will mean they will have nine players under contract. Expect Chicago to add probably two more at some point during free agency; which begins tomorrow.
“It’s crazy I’m going to the Bulls. I watched Jordan play my whole life. I watched Derrick Rose. I can’t wait to play with him,” Tony Snell told the media at the Berto Center via phone Thursday night.
Snell played with the San Antonio Spurs’ forward, and human being with giant hands Kawhi Leonard in high school.
“Both of us know about hard work,” Snell said.
Fun fact: newly minted Chicago Bulls guard Tony Snell was actually born in 1991, the same year as the first Bulls NBA Championship. He also has 4.9% body fat. Chicago Bulls GM Gar Forman described Snell thusly: “We think he’s a skilled basketball player with a lot of potential to get better.” Snell is a long athletic defender who really impressed during his private workouts. He fits the Bulls mold of a dedicated defender, but doesn’t quite fit the mold of big school guy with a lot of experience winning at the highest level of college basketball.
Opening statement from Gar Forman to the media on NBA Draft.
New Mexico didn’t really achieve that much under Steve Alford. However the Bulls were looking for shooting. And that’s what we keep hearing about Tony Snell; he’s a shooter.
And that’s what the Bulls really need: shooting. Then again, if you’re a NBA basketball player, shooting should just be par for the course. You should be able to shoot; so you can therefore score. And the Bulls need offense; so Snell is a good fit.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on how the rookies will fit in defensively: “You’re just trying to get them to concentrate on steady improvement.” The first chance to see Tony Snell in action will be July 13, 7 pm CDT, in Las Vegas on NBA TV.
And now that the Chicago Bulls have selected a former player of now UCLA Coach Steve Alford I CAN’T WAIT for Boers and Bernstein of 670TheScore to interview Alford.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Alford to come on WSCR or B&B to talk about him though.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net. (“Quasi-endorsed” by Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly) He’s also an author who also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker
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