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ESPNChicago.com’s Nick Friedell joins SportsCenter to discuss the Bulls’ selection of Marquis Teague in the NBA draft and the status of Luol Deng.

New Chicago Bulls guard Marquis Teague was surprised he was still on the board when the team made him the 29th selection in the NBA draft on Thursday, but he's glad to join forces with Derrick Rose.

"I was pretty surprised," Teague said Friday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I thought my name would be called earlier, but I'm happy with the situation I'm in, and I'm feeling great about playing for the Bulls."

Teague's situation, at least before free agency, might mean significant playing time for the 19-year-old point guard with Rose expected to miss a significant amount of time as he recovers from knee surgery. Teague, who never worked out for the Bulls leading up to the draft, said he doesn't know yet what his role will be with his new team.

"I guess I'm just going to get in the gym and really work hard, try to get better and we'll see what happens from there," he said.

On Thursday night, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau wouldn't rule out Teague as a starter early in the season, but general manager Gar Forman said the team will look at point guards in free agency, which begins on Sunday.

C.J. Watson's future in Chicago is uncertain with the Bulls holding a team option on his deal, and John Lucas III is a free agent.

Teague, whose brother Jeff plays for the Atlanta Hawks, benefited from playing under pressure immediately in his one season of college basketball at Kentucky, which won the national title last season. He averaged 9.4 points and a team-high 4.8 assists for the Wildcats, who tied a record with having six players drafted on Thursday.

"I think (that experience) is going to help a lot," Teague said. "I've got the experience of playing with talented guys. I know what it takes to come in and win and work hard. I'll be ready."

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Bulls first-round draft pick Marquis Teague joins "Waddle & Silvy" to discuss his role with the team, playing with Derrick Rose and more.



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Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on drafting Marquis Teague and the health of Derrick Rose.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- General manager Gar Forman seemed genuinely surprised that Marquis Teague was still available for the Chicago Bulls to select him with the 29th pick in the NBA draft Thursday night. While it's way too early to know whether the 19-year-old point guard is going to be a late-round steal for Forman and Co., here are a few things we can glean from the selection:

Teague will get a chance to play: While Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau understandably didn't sound like a man who would start Teague on opening night -- no matter how well he plays in summer league or in training camp -- he did sound like a coach who would give the young rookie a chance to play if he earned it. With Derrick Rose recovering from knee surgery and C.J. Watson’s uncertain contract status, plenty of fans are already wondering if Teague could get the call on opening night. Given Thibodeau's track record, that would be a major stretch. The one thing that both Thibodeau and Bulls GM Gar Forman harped on was Teague's championship experience at Kentucky. The pair discussed Teague, and his readiness for the NBA, earlier in the day with Kentucky coach John Calipari. Obviously, they liked what they heard. While Teague, whose brother Jeff plays for the Atlanta Hawks, may not play right away, he will get the chance early on if he proves to Thibodeau he can handle minutes in a backup role.

Bye-bye Watson and Lucas?: The fact that the Bulls drafted Teague likely means that either Watson, or John Lucas III -- or both -- could be gone before the beginning of next season. Watson has a $3.2 million team option that Forman must decide whether to pick up within the next week or so. And Lucas is an unrestricted free agent. While it was never a sure thing that both would return, Teague's arrival means that at least one likely will be gone. In an interview with ESPN 1000, Lucas didn't sound like a man who was ready to turn in his swipe card to the Berto Center on Thursday night, and Watson has said repeatedly that he would love to stay in Chicago. But the Bulls are going to look hard at veteran point guards in the free agent market, and if they feel as if they can get a better deal, Watson and Lucas will be jettisoned as the Bulls wait for Rose to heal.

How does Teague's arrival impact everybody else?: Many figured the Bulls would go after a combo guard in the draft to replace the hole that figures to be open if Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer don't return. While Forman kept all his options open as far as retaining both veteran swingmen, the odds are still high that neither will return given the Bulls' uneasiness about not going that far into the luxury tax. While the Bulls might have filled a need with Teague, they left another one open in trying to get depth for the 2-3 position. Luol Deng is still expected to have surgery after the Olympics which would put him out for three to four months. Richard Hamilton just finished a season in which he could barely stay on the floor because of various injuries. The Bulls will undoubtedly look at various options for that position in the next few weeks, but one of the happiest people (for the moment) about Teague's arrival has to be second-year guard/forward Jimmy Butler. Last year’s first-round pick is going to get a long look from Thibodeau for more minutes, and now he doesn't have to worry about another rookie trying to take his time in the rotation. The Bulls might add a veteran in the coming weeks, but Butler has to feel pretty good they didn't add somebody else on draft night.

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Bulls GM Gar Forman joined Nick Friedell and Chuck Swirsky to discuss the Bulls drafting Marquis Teague and the offseason ahead.



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DEERFIELD -- One of the worst things to come from Derrick Rose's knee injury, other than the injury itself, of course, is that we never got to see how good the Bulls could be.

We saw them get awfully close during the regular season. And it was very good. But apparently now that we have seen how good LeBron James can be, it only stands to reason that the Bulls now stink.

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The Los Angeles Lakers have been checking around the league this week to gauge Pau Gasol's trade value, according to sources briefed on the discussions.

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The Chicago Bulls will have to wait until the 29th pick in next week's NBA draft, but general manager Gar Forman considers it a deep talent pool leaving them with choices at the end of the first round.

"We have spent a great deal of time not only the last month but the last couple of years preparing for this draft," Forman told the team's website. "We're at 29, and we feel good about where we are. We feel it's a pretty deep draft, and we will be able to find a player that fits us and will be able to help us in the future.

"As always we're not looking at specific needs. We'll draft who we think is the best player available. But we're going to have some interesting choices at the end of the month."

In his latest mock draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford has the Bulls selecting Vanderbilt guard John Jenkins with the 29th pick.

Jenkins, who averaged more than 19 points a game in each of his final two seasons at Vanderbilt, has deep range on his shot with a quick release. But at 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, he lacks ideal size and lateral quickness, according to Ford.