In advance of the 2018 draft, the NBA organized and executed a draft combine overseas, inviting 81 players from 23 countries to participate in front of the vast majority of the league’s franchises. While none of the top-tier names for this coming draft were included for various reasons, 29 of 30 franchises made the trip to Italy to take in the festivities, investing in the world of future evaluation.
However, Jonathan Givony of ESPN brought word on Thursday that the Chicago Bulls were the team that did not attend, citing sources at the camp when unearthing a very interesting rationale.
Of the 30 NBA teams, 29 sent representatives to scout the event, with only the Chicago Bulls refusing to participate because of their unwillingness to pay the $10,000 fee the league charged teams to subsidize expenses, according to camp officials.
The Bulls have famously operated in a cost-conscious manner, most famously with regard to the 2017 NBA Draft, in which Chicago sold the second-round draft pick that became Warriors big man Jordan Bell for $3.5 million. Given the team’s rebuilding trajectory, that decision was widely panned and, for many, this nugget from ESPN brought back memories of that bizarre choice.
With that said, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune caught up with Bulls executive vice president John Paxson, who refuted the initial account, instead referencing other factors.
“We made a decision not to attend the Treviso camp given our trust in our director of international scouting, Ivica Dukan, and his knowledge of the event and the prospects in attendance,” executive vice president John Paxson said Thursday. “We are also currently holding workouts for our two first-round draft picks and want all of our scouts present as we go about this very important process.”
Shortly thereafter, ESPN fired back in simply asking why the Bulls would not invest the $10,000 in order to simply gain full access to the available information, even if choosing not to physically attend.
Bulls confirm they were the lone NBA team not to attend the NBA Global Camp, citing previously scheduled workouts and their trust in their scouting department. Surely then they will pay the 10k in order to obtain the crucial medical data of participants? https://t.co/I4fxnhiQpj https://t.co/bCKvvUMAXp
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 7, 2018
It is, of course, not in the Bulls’ interest to confirm any such reporting that would make the franchise look cheap and that has to be noted when taking Paxson’s answer into account. Still, this is an area of unknown and, at this point, the “real” story may never actually come to light. Regardless, the Bulls have two first-round picks in this draft and a roster that remains in the midst of a rebuild. From an outsider’s perspective, Chicago would logically want to invest in any possible way to ensure a bright future but that apparently didn’t include attendance at the first NBA event of its kind.
