The Chicago Bulls got their man, trading their two first-round picks for sharp-shooting forward Doug McDermott, who was taken 11th by the Denver Nuggets, league sources told ESPN on Thursday night.
The Bulls were high on the former Creighton star all season, scouting him a number of times. They were also looking for a trade partner for the 16th and 19th picks to shave money off next year's salary cap.
Is that a good sign for the Bulls' free agent hopes this summer?
While the Bulls pursue free agent Carmelo Anthony, getting McDermott addresses one of their biggest needs: shooting and scoring.
As a team, the Bulls shot 42 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on 3-pointers last year. They were the lowest-scoring team in the NBA, averaging 93.7 points per game without Derrick Rose for all but 10 games.
Mike Dunleavy and Kirk Hinrich were the only reliable long-ranger shooters on the roster. Hinrich is a free agent, and Dunleavy could be prime bait in a sign-and-trade deal.
McDermott was the consensus college player of the year during his senior season, averaging 26.7 points, shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point ranger.
McDermott is the fifth-highest scorer in Division I history with 3,150 points, and he is a career .458 shooter from 3-point range.
McDermott could play the post in college, and was measured at 6-foot-7-3/4 with shoes on at the NBA draft combine.
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