A forgotten layer of the Bulls’ 2006 draft mistake surfaced on Friday, and it only adds to how painful that night looks in hindsight.
On ESPN’s The Hoop Collective podcast, Bobby Marks - who was then an assistant general manager with the New Jersey Nets - told a story about a strange trade conversation involving Chicago’s second pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. The Bulls owned the No. 2 selection, but they ultimately moved down to No. 4 and took forward Tyrus Thomas instead of LaMarcus Aldridge.
That decision has aged badly. Aldridge went on to play 18 NBA seasons, make seven All-Star teams and earn five All-NBA selections. Thomas, meanwhile, did not even finish his rookie contract in Chicago and was later moved in a 2010 trade deadline deal with the then-Charlotte Bobcats.
Marks’ memory also brought up the Nets’ side of the draft, though the actual picks were the 22nd and 23rd selections, where New Jersey took guard Marcus Williams and forward Josh Boone, both from the University of Connecticut.
The bigger point is easy to see: if Chicago was willing to move back from another first-round slot, the 16th pick in that draft, the board could have looked very different.
That 2006 class was not loaded with franchise-changing stars, but it did produce real talent. Had the Bulls slid from No. 16 to either No. 22 or No. 23, they could have landed Kyle Lowry, who eventually became a six-time All-Star and a 2018-19 NBA champion.
Lowry’s rise did not happen overnight, though. It took him nine NBA seasons and three teams before he reached his first All-Star Game in the 2014-15 regular season.
Chicago’s backcourt at the time was already crowded, with Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Chris Duhon essentially locked into the rotation heading into the draft.
Still, if the Nets were dangling a future first-round pick, the Bulls may have been better served taking the longer view. Instead, they took the swing on Thomas - and missed. And if nothing else, the new wrinkle only sharpens the old thought: not trading for Aldridge would have been the real escape.
In Other News...
NBA Offseason Moves Quietly Reshape League Future
The offseasons quieter moves can end up mattering just as much as the headline-grabbers, and Nic Claxton landing in Chicago fits that mold. For a Bulls team looking to firm up its interior presence, adding a defender and rim protector of Claxtons profile gives the roster a different edge, especially as the league keeps rewarding teams that can survive on both ends without overcommitting to one style.
Around the rest of the NBA, the ripple effects are easy to spot. Marcus Smarts two-year deal with Houston brings a familiar defensive tone to the Rockets, while Dallas turning to Dusty May as its head coach adds a fresh voice with real pressure to shape the Mavericks direction. For Chicago, the bigger question is how quickly a move like the Claxton trade translates into actual depth and nightly consistency once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Rebuild Already Faces The Same Defensive Fear Again
A fresh look at Chicagos defensive outlook has already revived an old concern, with an NBA stats graphic circulating on social media showing several Bulls-related lineups among the leagues least efficient half-court defensive groups in the 2025-26 season. For a team trying to reset under new executive vice president Bryson Graham and head coach Tiago Splitter, it is a blunt reminder that the rebuild is not just about adding offense or leaning on young talent. It is also about proving the Bulls can stop somebody when the game slows down.
The larger issue is familiar because it has followed the franchise for years: is this a coaching problem, or does the roster simply not have enough defensive heft to hold up in the half court? Individual players bring different defensive traits, but the early evidence has done little to quiet the skepticism around the unit as a whole. The 2026-27 season is shaping up as the real test, not just of the new leadership, but of whether the Bulls can finally turn that long-running fear into something more manageable. [Read more 🡒]