Bulls High on Trades

The Chicago Bulls got everything they wanted in the NBA draft Wednesday night and a little more.

Louisiana State’s Tyrus Thomas sold the Bulls on his athleticism and Thabo Sefolosha of Switzerland impressed them with his athletic 6-foot-6 frame that should fill a need for size in their backcourt.

The Bulls acquired both through last-minute trades. Essentially they made the No. 2 pick for the Portland Trail Blazers and selected Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge. The Trail Blazers agreed to take Thomas at No. 4 for the swap.

The trade was attractive to the Bulls because they picked up an additional player from Portland -- third-year forward Viktor Khryapa, a first-round pick two years ago. Portland will get one of Chicago’s two second-round picks next season. The Philadelphia 76ers agreed to pick Sefolosha with the 13th pick and the Bulls took Rodney Carney of Memphis at No. 16 with an agreement in place for a trade. The Bulls also gave up a 2007 second-round draft.

In Thomas the Bulls have a 6-7 1/4 forward who is raw offensively but has what General Manager John Paxson called game-changing shot-blocking ability. The Bulls also have high regard for his rebounding.

“We think given a couple of years under our system, this kid’s going to blossom,” Paxson said.