Continuing our draft history journey, we are going to jump right in to 1994, these 90’s drafts are a little tough because the Bulls, being the dominant team they were, naturally ended up near the back end of drafts which doesn’t always spell doom, but it’s certainly a tougher dart throw than a lottery pick. I promise, there are more entertaining years to come.
With the 21st pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, the Bulls select…
Dickey Simpkins, Big Man from Providence
Dickey Simpkins played for a total of 6 years with Chicago, with a brief hiatus to play a few months for the Warriors. He acquired 3 rings (’96, ’97, ’98) starting a total of 17 games over that span, only averaging around 10 minutes per game. in the ’97-’98 season, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Scott Burrell.
Scott Burrell ended up being released by the Bulls in January of ’99 but did play in 80 games for Chicago and did secure himself a ring.
The Warriors had waived Dickey Simpkins in this time, and the Bulls thought they would give him another go, signing him as a free agent in 1998, just 5 months after trading him to the Warriors. He played another 3 seasons, starting in 83 games over that time, and had the most productive season of his career in ’98-’99 averaging 9.1 points and 6.8 boards. After the ’99-’00 season he went on to play in Greece. He would return just one year later to play in 1 game for the Atlanta Hawks, which is where his NBA career would come to an end.
With the 22nd pick (49th OA) in the second round of the 1994 NBA Draft, the Bulls select…
Kris Bruton, Forward from Benedict College
Not a whole lot to report here, in fact, there is nothing to report here. Kris Bruton did not register a single game for the Bulls, from what I can tell, they never signed him to a deal. Upon further research, he suffered a serious thigh injury and never was added to the official roster. He did spend some time with the Harlem Globetrotters however.
Top Picks from the ’94 Draft:
1. Glenn Robinson – Bucks
2. Jason Kidd – Mavericks
3. Grant Hill – Pistons
This was a fun draft to look back on though. Jalen Rose was selected 13th to Denver. Eric Mobley, father of Evan Mobley, was selected 18th. Monty Williams, coach of the Phoenix Suns, was selected 24th. Just to name a few.
Well that wraps up the 1994 Bulls draft History, once again, no key pieces were selected, and no pieces that were packaged for any other significant pieces either, but the later we get into the 90’s and into the 2000’s that will absolutely change.
Jacob Grenemeier
June 8th, 2022
Credit to:
Photo:
Info: https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1994.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Bruton
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