The 2009 NBA Draft has come and gone. We did three mock drafts on our site, the final version which can be found here. How did our mock draft stack up against the big three’s mock drafts?  (The big three being Draft Express, Nbadraft.net, and Chad Ford’s mock draft for ESPN.com).

Dabullz.com

Correct Picks: 8/30 (26.7%)
Average Deviation: 4.7
Lottery Picks: 6/14 (42.9%)
Lottery Deviation: 1.07

Draftexpress.com

Correct Picks: 14/30 (46.7%)
Average Deviation: 5.03
Lottery Picks: 8/14 (57.1%)
Lottery Deviation: 1.43

Nbadraft.net

Correct Picks: 10/30 (33.3%)
Average Deviation: 5.5
Lottery Picks: 7/14 (50%)
Lottery Deviation: 2.71

Chad Ford

Correct Picks: 12/30 (40%)
Average Deviation: 3.77
Lottery Picks: 9/14 (64.3%)
Lottery Deviation: 0.57

(more…)

While at the Orlando Summer League, Doug Thonus sat down with John Paxson to discuss the philosophies that Paxson is using to build the Bulls.

The Bulls hired veteran assistant coaches because Vinny is a rookie head coach. They are really comfortable with Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff, both who have coached thousands of games as head coaches. Bob Ociepka is a detailed preparation guy and Pete Myers will remain on the staff. Del Harris’ and Bernie Bickstaff’s experience is unmatched in the NBA.

Paxson thinks the key is to get certainty with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon’s contracts. It is difficult for the Bulls to make other moves with that uncertainty. If there is a talented player who the Bulls can count on every night, Paxson would love to package some players together.

Paxson thinks being young in this league is not the ideal situation to win in this league. Paxson hopes that the Bulls can take some of their guys and acquire a guy that they really like.

In an ideal world, the Bulls would be a really good team that had cleared cap space for 2010. The Bulls will have an opportunity to go that direction because Larry Hughes’ contract comes off in 2010 and they have some pieces they can turn into expiring contracts, but Paxson’s thinks it would be a disservice to make that a stated goal.

The interview can be read in it’s full text at Draftexpress.com