According to Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen, the Chicago Bulls have traded Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 First Round Draft Pick.

The Bulls will receive the pick of the San Antonio Spurs, which is currently slated to be the 26th overall pick in the draft.

With the acquisitions of Tim Thomas and John Salmons, Sefolosha’s playing days for the Bulls seemed to be coming to an end.

A late first round draft pick is about the most you could have expected for a player like Thabo Sefolosha, who for the most part has been a bust.

Some of the players to go in the late first round in recent drafts are George Hill, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, Kevin Martin, Leandro Barbosa, and Josh Howard.

The picks in the 20’s usually see a lot of international players being taken. Sometimes there are hits, a lot of times, these picks amount to nothing. In this frenzy of international selections in the late first round, some talented college players can fall.

At the very least, if the Bulls cannot find a player to their liken in the draft, they could sell the pick to the Portland Trail Blazers.

This trade sheds $2.76 million from the Bulls salary next year, which should help in re-signing Ben Gordon.

Good trade by the Bulls. With expiring contracts for next season, mixed with young talent, and multiple draft picks, the Bulls just might have the pieces to pull off a big draft day trade.

Update: 6:23 PM

It is actually going to be the San Antonio pick, not the Denver or Phoenix picks.

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Tags: 2009 NBA Draft, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Thabo Sefolosha, trade

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