Noah, Hawes might fill Bulls' big need

The Bulls brass has been busy with workouts of draft prospects, including a session Friday at the Berto Center that included Joakim Noah, from two-time defending champion Florida, and Spencer Hawes, from Washington.

Either of the two, both of whom measured 6-10 without shoes at the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., last week, would seem a good fit for the Bulls, who likely will look to fill their need for a post player should they keep the No. 9 pick in the draft June 28.

Neither Noah nor Hawes had any qualms about facing each other in the same session, even though they are battling for some of the same jobs.

''You don't want to be somebody who's ducking players. I think that's kind of lame,'' said Noah, who also squared off against Hawes on Wednesday in a workout for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who own the No. 7 pick. ''I think Spencer's a great player. He has a lot of upside. He can shoot the ball really well. He's a competitor. It's great going up against a guy who's pretty different than I am in terms of our abilities.''

Hawes, who has yet to hire an agent and therefore could opt to withdraw from the draft and return to Washington for his sophomore season, is known for his good hands, ball-handling, footwork and a shooting touch to 18 feet. He averaged 14.9 points and 6.4 rebounds last season and earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention.

''You're gunning for each other but, at the same time, you like him,'' Hawes said of Noah. ''It's fun going up against the guys you know are trying to bring the best out of each other.

''I think [playing for the Bulls] would be a great opportunity. A lot of the times, guys who are higher picks fall into situations where they are playing for losing teams and teams on the rebound that are going to be better in the future but not right away. The opportunity to win right away is just about as enticing as you could find trying to step into the league.''

Complete article by BRIAN HANLEY

It is rumored that the Bulls really liked Noah for last years draft but he returned to school for 1 more year. His averaged dropped from 14 points a game to 12.

Many Bulls posters on various message boards do not like Noah as a Bull, some do. I think we could do worse than Noah. He runs the floor and plays defense.

Spencer Hawes is a better fit in my opinion. He has a low post game and a nice touch from in close. As the article stated, he averaged 14.9 and just over 6 rebounds a game in college. If he can do that for the Bulls, he gives us EXACTLY what Eddy Curry did, except with a little better defense.

Personally I want Paxson to try and trade for a big man. If it means trading away the pick then so be it, as long as the big man fits in with the team. More than likely, we keep the pick, and then trade for a big man after July 15. Why wait until then? Because on July 15, we can resign both P.J. Brown and Andres Nocioni and include them in a package for a player like Zach Randolph.

Sources tell me, Portland will make a trade soon, but they won't say the name of the team.

NBA draft is just 18 days away.