The Chicago Bulls just drafted Joakim Noah. I do not like this pick. I do not like Noah. I am not happy.

Put aside Noah is the most annoying player to watch with his screaming on every play and his constant chest pounding.

Put aside that Noah’s numbers declined last year.

Put aside that he’s often compared to the world’s ugliest dog.

When it is all said and down, Joakim Noah will not match up with the picks that came before him in this class nor with a few that will go later. Not only that, the skills he does do well are not what the Bulls need right now.

He can’t create points. He can play the post with energy, but not much skill. He matches up too similarly with what the Bulls already have at the position – a defensive player with below average offensive ability. This was a safety pick for GM John Paxon and not a very good one for a team that lost in the playoffs because of an exploitation in their post play on the scoring side of the court.

The Bulls could have taken Spencer Hawes, although his age and athleticism might make him a bad choice at this point too.

The Bulls have two more picks left. Look for them to take a serious glance at DJ Strawberry.

Illini watch

Just kidding. No Illini are getting drafted. There hasn’t even been a press conference arranged for Warren Carter because the chance is so small. I think Carter can make an NBA roster down the road and should do well in the D-League next year.

But Deron Williams’ name was mentioned in comparison to Mike Conley Jr. Please. DW is 10 times the PG Junior will ever be.

Since the 1989 Final Four team, 13 Illinois basketball players have been drafted. Granted, some of those players (like Scott Meents) were selected before the NBA shortened the draft to two rounds, however, that’s still a pretty impressive number. Almost every year an Illini has gotten picked, and for the last two years, two players have traded their orange and blue in for NBA threads on draft day.

This year, though, don’t expect so much.

There is no Deron Williams coming out this year’s crop of Illini draft hopefuls. There’s no Dee, no Brian Cook, no Auggie or Luther or Nick Anderson or Frank Williams or Kenny Battle or Kendall Gill. Hell, there isn’t even a Robert Archibald.

Instead, Champaign will try to support a lanky Texas boy with a strange shot and even stranger hair, and a streaky shooter with NBA range but little else to his game (but some huge biceps).

Will either get drafted? Probably not. Most draft boards don’t even mention Warren Carter or Rich McBride. Carter has used his hookups to arrange work outs for the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, but it’s doubtful either will look at him until after the draft, possibly as a free agent (like D-league star Roger Powell).

So what’s lacking in their games?

Carter has athleticism and a decent baseline jumper, but lacks the inside game that his size requires. Not to mention he didn’t come out of his shell until his senior year and, though a fan favorite, was considered a bust during his first three seasons when he rotted on the bench as a seventh or eighth man. Carter benefited from the graduation of James Augestine and finally got the chance to start, and though he was the Illini’s biggest scoring threat, his numbers were pretty modest.

McBride was a poor man’s Luther Head. He could hit the long range three-pointer, but couldn’t create his own shot, couldn’t slash, couldn’t drive and couldn’t grow hair. There’s also personal issues following his DUI. McBride will be lucky if the CBA picks him up.

As for the rest of the draft, we may be looking at one of the deepest classes ever in terms of players who can sustain productive careers for a long time. Of course there’s Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, the next great center and the next … well, maybe the first of it’s kind. Oden will go No. 1 and Durant No. 2, both to West teams solidifying the East as the inferrior conference once again, but after that, there’s a whole boat load of Sam Cassels and Robert Horrys.

Make no mistake, this draft begins with the third pick. After all the hoopla and hype ends when Oden and Durant are off the board, the GMs really go to work. The Hawks sit (luckily) at No. 3, and though they might trade the pick along with the No. 11 for any number of disgruntled superstars, it’s likely they will pick one of three players if they stay: Al Horford, maybe the most sure thing after Oden, Mike Conley Jr., the best point guard in the draft despite his age, or Yi Jialian, the Durant to Yao Ming’s Oden. From 4-60, theres plenty more for clubs to choose … they just won’t choose an Illini (and why should they when talent like DJ Strawberry will still be available late).

Slip down to No. 9, where the Bulls first draft. The Bulls will take the best player available, which won’t solve what they need. They need a scoring big man, someone who isn’t a three-five year project. That rules out Brandon Wright and maybe even Spence Hawkes, two 19 year olds who are less than polished, but will make good pros someday. Jeff Green, the pseudo-forward out of Georgetown, might be the best choice. Green can pass, he can work down low and even shoot the three. Maybe too much like Luol Deng, though the way trade rumors are circulating England’s finest, maybe they should back him up. After Green, I like Jeff’s fifth cousin twice removed Al Green, Acie Law and Nick Young. Is Julian Wright worth the look despite his down year? But if Al Horford falls, Paxon has gotta take him. All in all, the Bulls, with a young core of outside players and several works in progress, are one of the few teams that can’t be helped too much by this crop. They need a veteran power forward that can score down low and pick and roll. You can’t get that in the draft.

I’m hesitant to watch the draft though. I was happy when his show got cancelled, but since then, the ESPN networks have been working so hard to plug Stephen A. Smith in other ways, I sorta wish “Quite Frankly” was still on the air. At least then I could plan my day around avoiding the brash, loud, cocky know-nothing. Now he just pops up everywhere. Stephen, I have my T.V. on mute and I can still here you in the next room while brushing my teeth and vaccuming (I’m a college student with two jobs, I have to multi-task). Please tone it down. At least when Stewart Scott tries to push his fake hip-hop personality, he does so with some journalistic ability. You’re just loud. Always nice to see Jay Bilas out of season, but what’s with his affinity for Joke-face Noah. If the Bulls take him, I’m converting to Jazz-only fan. They have half the Illini anyway.

Coming out of the first round the Bulls looked like a championship contender. Three games later they’re on the brink of elimination and humiliation. The Pistons have made fools of them. And I never saw it coming.

I expected a good series like everyone else, six or seven games of hard-nosed defensive basketball. The Bulls, though, being younger and more hungry, were supposed to prevail. The signs were everywhere. Here’s why I thought the Bulls would win.

Ben Wallace

The undersized (height, not arms) center was supposed to be the last piece of the puzzle. He was the Dennis Rodman of Jordan’s second three-peat team: while a little on the old side, an excellent low-post defender to compliment an already well-rounded defensive team, plus a lot less crazy. And even if Wallace didn’t live up to his billing (and he didn’t), the Bulls still succeeded in removing one of the Pistons’ crucial championship pieces. Maybe Detroit knew something Chicago did not. They look pretty good without Big Ben. Makes we wish Paxson would have pursued KG more.

Chris Webber

To replace Wallace Detroit picked up Webber, the quintessential washed up veteran. Chris Webber is not a winner. He’s in that category of players that are good, but will never win you a championship. Detroit picking up Webber is like the Lakers picking up Karl Malone. It looks good on paper, but it’s never going to work. I mean, five years ago could you imagine a front court of Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber contending for a championship? Still, surprisingly, the Pistons look like the class of the East.

Regular season

Sure the Pistons finished with the better record, but the Bulls beat the Pistons 3-1 over the course of the season. Yes, the regular season means little to a good team, but you can’t tell me the Pistons couldn’t find motivation to play their best when they faced the Bulls. Chicago, with Wallace, was a legitimate threat to take the Central Division crown.

Playoffs

I was sure the Bulls would beat the Heat, but I was not expecting a sweep. After losing a crucial game to the Nets and backing into the fifth seed, I thought the Heat would give the fight. Instead the Bulls came together and played great team basketball, getting consistent contribution from Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. It looked like the Bulls had the maturity to play at the next level, even against the Pistons.

Clearly the Pistons have this series, as possibly the Eastern Conference Championship, well in hand. The Bulls should pull out a win tomorrow in Chicago, but Game 5 in Detroit will be their last.

Let the off-season begin. If I know John Paxson, it should be interesting.

This is Tyler Hall writing on Dave Just’s Login:

The Bulls started off the playoffs very strongly. They managed to defeat the defending NBA Champions in only four games. They did everything well that a great basketball team does.

Some may have thought that the Bulls had returned to glory. Unfortunately, the Detroit Pistons thought otherwise. The Pistons completely dismantled the Bulls in game one of the seven game series. The Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon combined for a mere 22 points. Gordon was two-for-nine in his twenty-seven minutes of play. The Bulls were beaten in every aspect of the game. The only bright spot for the Bulls was Luol Deng. He managed to score eighteen points and was one of two Bulls in double figures. Hopefully the Bulls can pull themselves together for another series win. The 69 points they managed to score will not be enough to win though.