Chicago Bulls History

                                            1966-Present

Current Lineup Derrick Rose Aaron Brooks Doug Mcdermott Kirk Hinrich Joakim Noah Pau Gasol Tony Snell Jimmy Butler Taj GibsonMike Dunleavy Nikola Mirotic Nazr Mohammed Cameron Bairstow E'twaun Moore Coaching Staff Head Coach-Tom Thibodeau Assistant Coaches- Andy Greer, Adrian Griffin, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm Trainer- Jeff Tanaka Founded: April 30,1966 Arena: United Center Division Championships: 7 Midwest 1(75) Central 7(91,92,93,96,97,98,11) NBA Titles: 6 (91,92,93,96,97,98) Best Record: 72-10 (95-96)- Best Record in NBA History Worst Record: 15-67 (00-01) With a slim 1.7% chance of winning the rights to draft number 1, the Bulls won the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery and selected first overall. With this, the Bulls became the team with the lowest chance of winning to ever win the lottery since it was modified for the 1994 NBA Draft, and second lowest ever. On June 26, 2008, the Bulls drafted Chicago native Derrick Rose from the University of Memphis as the number 1 draft pick. At pick number 39 they selected Sonny Weems. The Bulls later traded Weems to the Denver Nuggets for Denver's 2009 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls then acquired Ömer Aşık from the Portland Trail Blazers (selected with the 36th pick) for Denver's 2009 regular second-round draft pick, New York's 2009 regular second-round draft pick, and the Bulls' 2010 regular second-round draft pick. The Bulls re-signed Luol Deng to a six-year $71 million contract on July 30, 2008. He was later plagued with an injury keeping him from action for most of the 2008–2009 season. Ben Gordon signed a one-year contract on October 2, 2008. On February 18, 2009, the Bulls made their first of several trades, sending Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons,and Michael Ruffin to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons. Then on February 19, 2009, the NBA trade deadline, the Bulls traded Larry Hughes to the New York Knicks for Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson. Later that day the Bulls made the third trade in a span of less than 24 hours by sending swingman Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 first-round pick. The trades brought a late-season push for the Bulls, which finally clinched a playoff berth on April 10, 2009, their fourth in the last five years. They finished the season with a 41–41 record. Their record was good enough to secure a No. 7 seed in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, playing a tough series against the Boston Celtics. In Game 1, Derrick Rose scored 36 points, along with 11 assists, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record for most points scored by a rookie in a playoff debut. After breaking the record for most overtimes played in a NBA Playoffs Series, the Boston Celtics managed to overcome the Bulls after 7 games and 7 overtimes played. The Bulls had two 1st round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft and decided to take Wake Forest stand out forward James Johnson and athletic USC forward Taj Gibson. In the 2009 NBA off-season the Bulls lost their leading scorer, Ben Gordon, when he signed with their divisional rival, theDetroit Pistons. On February 18, 2010, John Salmons was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick. Meanwhile, Tyrus Thomas was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Acie Law, Flip Murray and a future protected first round pick. On April 14, 2010, the Bulls clinched the playoffs with the number 8 seed. Unlike the previous year, however, the Bulls' playoff run was shorter and less dramatic as they were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. On May 4, 2010, the Bulls officially fired head coach Vinny Del Negro.