The Chicago Bulls introduced James Johnson and Taj Gibson in a press conference today. Here is a rough recap of what was said during the press conference today.

Gar Forman: We are very excited about how things turned out.  Think with both players there is great versatility, both for the roster, but also as far as their games are concerned.  James can play inside and outside.  He can play at the 3 and the 4.  Taj is a skill player, who brings length and activity to the floor that will really help us.

James Johnson: Chicago is a great city, going to be happy to play here.  They’re a great young team.  Going to be fun running with Derrick and the rest of the guys.

Taj Gibson: I feel the same way.  I’m blessed to be here, a great city, a great team.  Looking forward to filling any need the team has, looking forward to the season.

Reporter: Do you liken yourself to anyone in particular or the kind of style of play?

James Johnson: I watch everyone.  I have a couple guys, inside and out.  Try to take everyone’s game who makes great moves, and make them in my game.

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Chicago Bulls general manager, Gar Forman and head coach, Vinny Del Negro fielded questions from the media following the Bulls’ first round selections in the 2009 NBA Draft. Here is a recap of what each said.

Gar Forman

• They targeted James Johnson during the season.
• It was a consensus among their staff that James was a top 5-7 player in the draft.
• They love his versatility.  He can play the 3 and the 4.  He can play inside and outside.  At his size, 6′8″ 250 pounds, he can put the ball on the floor, rebound, push it out in transition, and penetrate.  He’s a very good passer for a big man and can make plays for both himself and teammates off the dribble.
• They got to see him for three straight days at a tournament in Anaheim, in which he showed an effective post game.
• They had talks with teams the last week about moving up in the draft, and James was the guy who they were targeting to move up and get.  They were really excited that he was there at 16.
• Taj Gibson is also a versatile guy.  He has great length.  He’s 6′10″ with a 7′4″ wingspan.  He runs the floor, which is important for the Bulls’ bigs to do with Derrick.  USC ran a lot of their offense through him.  He can make a 15 footer.  He plays extremely hard.  They were surprised that he was there at 26, as they heard he might be taken in the late teens or early twenties.
• It was a funny draft.  If certain guys went at certain spots, the whole order could be different.  The first 6-7, maybe 8 picks were set in stone.  After that, the same guy that went 9th could go 20th.
• James and Tyrus are nice complements.  James, in certain matchups, could guard inside and out.

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The Chicago Bulls have selected James Johnson, a sophomore power forward out of Wake Forest, with the 16th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

There was strong hints that the Bulls would select Johnson coming into the draft.  There were rumors that the Bulls would move up to 11th in a trade with the Nets in order to secure Johnson, but he fell to them at 16.

This past year, Johnson averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 RPG, and 1.5 BPG for Wake Forest.

According to a reputable Chicago Bulls insider, the Bulls are looking to move up for either Gerald Henderson or James Johnson.

Gerald Henderson is a 6′5″, junior shooting guard from Duke. He averaged 16.5 points per a game for the Blue Devils last year.

James Johnson is a 6′8″, sophomore power forward from Wake Forest. He averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks last year.

I am not a big Gerald Henderson fan. He wasn’t an efficient scorer and wasn’t a great three point shooter in college. Duke players have been questionable in transitioning to the NBA, and the good ones seem to be cursed, as Grant Hill, Luol Deng, and Carlos Boozer have all dealt with injury problems. I just can’t see the Bulls moving up for him, we already have a shooting guard, who I think, is far superior to Henderson.

James Johnson would be an interesting prospect. He scored at a good efficiency and was a solid rebounder and shotblocker last year. Johnson adds some strength to the front court, weighing in at 257 pounds and doing 18 bench press repetitions at the draft combine.

The Bulls likely wouldn’t give up much in this trade, maybe a second round draft pick or cash, if anything. (The team they trade with might just enjoy the smaller rookie scale contract they will get from trading down).

There was a rumor buzzing around earlier about the Bulls potentially trading up to the 11th pick, which the Nets possess. That should be high enough to at least nab one of these two guys. Worst case, Bulls are stuck taking another guy like Tyler Hansborough or B.J. Mullens

I don’t like the idea of trading up for a guard. I like the guards we have now, Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and John Salmons. Yes, Hinrich is an expensive sixth man, but the Bulls are one of the few teams that can afford to have the luxury of having a player like Hinrich coming off the bench.

The only thing I would look to add in the back court is a three point specialist, and Henderson does not fit that description. I would not draft Henderson.

James Johnson is a guy however, who I wouldn’t be upset with the Bulls taking. There are some interesting big man prospects around where the Bulls are picking in Johnson, Mullens, Hansborough, and Blair. The Bulls have done a good job evaluating draft prospects since John Paxson took over, so whoever out of that group Paxson and company decide to take will probably end up being a good decision.

There also is the possibility that the Bulls might just be looking to trade up to secure one of these guys for the Suns. There are rumors that the Suns are shopping Amare. They were reportedly in talks with the Wizards for the 5th pick, but the Wizards were not willing to deal Caron Butler. Hoops World Bill Ingram also hinted yesterday that the Bulls would be involved in a big deal, logically for Amare. The Suns would probably want the Bulls picks in any such deal, so the Bulls could just be trying to secure a guy the Suns like by trading up.