NBA Draft 2013: Who Will Draft Reggie Bullock?

The NBA Draft is almost here. With just a few hours away, a lot of questions have remained unanswered. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the 1st overall pick, still don’t know who they are picking. Neither does anyone else. This years NBA Draft lacks a clear cut superstar other drafts in the past have had. Like a Anthony Davis, or a Kyrie Irving.

Jan 19, 2013; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard/forward Reggie Bullock (35) reacts in the first half. The Tar Heels defeated the Terrapins 62-52 at the Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sport

A question that Tar Heel fans are still trying to find the answer for, is where will Reggie Bullock end up? Looking at a lot of Mock Drafts, there are several different answers. Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Atlanta Hawks are potential landing spots. The highest I have seen Bullock on the draft board is 17th to the Atlanta Hawks, and the lowest is in the 2nd round, 33rd overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Other likely spots are 19th to Cleveland, 20th to Chicago, and 23rd to Indiana. Obviously Reggie would want to be picked 17th by the Hawks. The higher you are picked, the better right? In most cases, yes. But for Bullock, does being picked 17th by Atlanta provide him the best opportunity? Or would the Bulls? Maybe the Cavaliers or the Pacers? What team should Reggie Bullock hope he gets drafted by?

Lets say Bullock does in fact get drafted by the Hawks. I do not believe he will, but lets pretend he does. How does he fit in? Atlanta is currently trying to persuade Dwight Howard to sign with them. Howard and current Atlanta Hawk Josh Smith are very close friends. Many believe this will have a huge impact on Dwight’s decision. If Howard does in fact end up in Atlanta. It will make the Hawks legitimate playoff contenders. Meaning that Bullock will get to play deep into the NBA playoffs. Sounds pretty good. Again, how does he fit in. The Hawks already have 2 players that are similar to Reggie. Kyle Korver and DeShawn Stevenson, who some people compare Bullock to. With that being said, it still leaves an open spot for Bullock in Atlanta, but there are better options. If Reggie Bullock gets drafted by the Hawks, it won’t be the end of the world for him, but there are better options.

One of the other potential teams for Bullock are the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have a lot of picks in the draft this year. As said before, they own the 1st overall pick in the draft. They also have the 19th, 31st, and 33rd picks. That makes them one of the more likely spots Bullock will end up. Even if they keep changing their mind on Bullock during the draft. They still have picks in their back pocket they can use on him. Just because he is likely to be picked by Cleveland, how does he fit in? As of right now, he fits in very well. That could easily change depending on how they use the number 1 pick. If they were to pick Otto Porter Jr, or Ben McLemore, this could change. Right now though, Bullock fits in. Cleveland already has some 3 point shooters, as in former Tar Heel Wayne Ellington, and Daniel Gibson. Neither of them have Bullock’s size. Whenever Bullock is in the game, a majority of the time he will be playing in the 3 spot (Small Forward). So they won’t affect his playing time. The Cavaliers also have the talented point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving will find Bullock when he is open, much like Kendall Marshall and Marcus Paige did in college. Not to mention the possibility of LeBron James returning to Cleveland will make it more enticing for Bullock. Cleveland should be near the top, if not the top, of Reggie’s wish list.

Jun 3, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (center) reacts on the bench during the fourth quarter of game 7 of the 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers are another team that is targeting Reggie Bullock. Indiana is coming off a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat. They were just 1 win away from reaching the NBA Finals. Sounds like a great fit for Bullock. The Pacers were missing starting Small Forward Danny Granger in the Playoffs. Which really hurt them down the stretch. Adding Reggie Bullock would be a wise move for the Pacers. Bullock gives them more depth than they had in the Playoffs last year. He will provide them with scoring off the bench, something they were not getting on the consistent basis last year. With that being said, they are obviously a great fit for him. Indiana lacks the star power some other teams might have. Cleveland with Kyrie Irving, Chicago with Derrick Rose, but overall the Pacers are a great fit. Do not be surprised if they end up calling Bullocks name tonight.

Another potential team for Bullock is the Utah Jazz. They too have a open spot for Reggie right away. Well, of course they do. They’re the Utah Jazz. They were a few games away from the Playoffs last year though. So lets show them some respect. The Lakers and Rockets edged them out for the final 2 playoff spots in the Western Conference. Anyways, Bullock shouldn’t have to worry about finding playing time if he ends up in Utah. Obviously they don’t have the star power appeal other teams do, or even the living environment. If Bullock does in fact get drafted by the Jazz. Playing time should be the least of his worries.

The Los Angeles Clippers are emerging as a candidate to draft Bullock, but there is one major problem. They have the 25th pick. There are a lot of major hurdles for them to even have the chance to draft Bullock. Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago (who we will get to next), Utah, and the Indiana Pacers will all have to pass up on Bullock. The Clippers aren’t exactly overwhelming favorites for Reggie Bullock, but they are contenders. Doc Rivers was recently traded to the Clippers, yep, apparently Head Coaches are being traded nowadays. As we saw in Boston, Rivers is a great Head Coach. He led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA Championship, and was one game away from winning the 2010 NBA Finals. Boston lost to the Lakers in Game 7 of that series. The biggest question for the Clippers is if star Point Guard Chris Paul will resign with the team. All signs point to him re-signing with them. but we can’t be 100% sure these days. If Paul does in fact resign, expect to see a lot of 3’s hit by Reggie Bullock. Chris Paul is one of the best, if not the best, passing point guards in the NBA. They would be a great fit for him.

Saving the best for last, we have come to the last team, the Chicago Bulls. I say “saving the best for last” because I believe this is the best fit for Bullock right away. In case you didn’t know, Bulls star point guard Derrick Rose has been hurt for quite some time now. A lot of people have been overreacting about him not coming back. I believe a few years from now, we will all look back and agree he made the right decision to sit out. When he does come back next year, assuming he is his normal 100% self, this makes the Bulls the overwhelming best fit. The Bulls lacked a consistent 3 point shooter this year. We all know what Reggie Bullock did from 3 point land in his College career with the Tar Heels. Yes, the NBA line is a lot farther out. We saw Reggie hit some NBA 3’s last year, he definitely has the range. Bullock will fit right in with the Bulls next year. Chicago looks poised for a deep playoff run next year, and a possible trip to the NBA Finals. Bullock will be an active part in that, if he were to be drafted by them.

Now, lets take a deep breath. Stand up and stretch if you have to. That was a good amount of reading.

I believe the Chicago Bulls are by far the best fit. That does not exactly mean they will draft him. The Cavaliers will likely take him 19th. A lot of that will depend on who they pick 1st overall. If they were to pick Nerlens Noel, many believe they will, or Alex Len. On the other hand, if they choose to select Ben McLemore or Victor Oladipo, that would make them less likely to select Bullock with the 19th pick. Nobody really knows for sure what way the Cavaliers are leaning. It seems like they are favoring Noel and Len, but no one can be sure. Bullock has a lot of different options, it will be highly unlikely for him to fall out of the 1st round. Even if that were to happen, the Cavaliers will likely draft him either 31st, or 33rd overall in the 2nd round.

Final Prediction: 19th overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers