Yi private Bulls workout Saturday June 9

Bulls step up their evaluations of draft prospects

By Mike McGraw

[...]the Bulls’ brain trust is planning to fly to Los Angeles for a private workout with Chinese 7-footer Yi Jianlian on Saturday.

Those players are the most likely candidates to be chosen by the Bulls with the No. 9 pick of the June 28 NBA draft, though all three could go higher.

The Bulls expect at least one of the three to still be around by the ninth pick and are hoping to be able to choose between two of the big men.

Noah, 22, is active and athletic. He wasn’t a big scorer in college, but he helped lead Florida to consecutive NCAA titles.

Hawes, 19, spent just one year at Washington. He has the best post scoring moves of these three players but needs to get stronger.

Yi, 19, is an excellent ballhandler for a 7-footer. He bears a much closer resemblance as a player to Toni Kukoc than Yao Ming. Yi may never be a powerful post player, but he has some unique skills.
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