The 2000âÂÂ01 Chicago Bulls season was the 35th season for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association. The Bulls received the fourth overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected power forward Marcus Fizer out of Iowa State University, and also selected center Chris Mihm from the University of Texas at Austin with the seventh overall pick; however, Mihm was soon traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for rookie shooting guard, and top draft pick Jamal Crawford from the University of Michigan. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Ron Mercer, Brad Miller and Bryce Drew.
The Bulls continued to struggle losing 24 of their first 27 games of the regular season, then later holding a 6âÂÂ42 record at the All-Star break, as the team finished in last place in the Central Division with a league-worst record of 15 wins and 67 losses, which was also their worst record in franchise history.
Second-year star Elton Brand led the team with 20.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, while Mercer averaged 19.7 points and 1.3 steals per game, and second-year forward Ron Artest provided the team with 11.9 points and 3.0 steals per game. In addition, Fizer averaged 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Fred Hoiberg contributed 9.1 points and 1.3 steals per game, and led the Bulls with 103 three-point field goals, Miller provided with 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and Drew contributed 6.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Brand and second-round draft pick Khalid El-Amin were both selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as Brand was a member of the Sophomores team, while El-Amin was a member of the Rookies team. The Bulls finished second in the NBA in home-game attendance behind the San Antonio Spurs, with an attendance of 888,654 at the United Center during the regular season.
Following the season, Brand was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers after two seasons with the Bulls. (See 2000âÂÂ01 Chicago Bulls season#Regular season)
The Bullsâ intentions going into the 2000-01 NBA season was to recruit a pair of the summer's elite free agentsâÂÂa group that included Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and Eddie JonesâÂÂto be the core players in the re-building process. However, Duncan re-signed with San Antonio, Hill accommodated his wife's desires to go to Orlando, and McGrady and Jones both opted to play near their home towns.
âÂÂIt wasn't so much a rejection of Chicago,â Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf stated, âÂÂas it was other considerations that compelled these individuals to make the decisions that they made to play for the teams they chose to play with.âÂÂ
Thus, the Bulls changed gears and focused on rebuilding through the draft and with youth. In the 2000 NBA draft, the Bulls took some steps in that direction, selecting Marcus Fizer (4th overall), and acquiring Jamal Crawford (selected 8th overall by Cleveland and immediately traded to the Bulls). Other notable off-season acquisitions included the signing of free agents Ron Mercer (Aug. 2), and Brad Miller (Sept. 7).
Opening the season with the youngest roster in NBA historyâÂÂan average of 22.9 years of age and seven rookiesâÂÂisn't typically a recipe for success in the league. The Bulls finished the season with the league's worst record at 15âÂÂ67 in Head Coach Tim Floyd's second full season. The team broke the franchise record for longest losing streak at the United Center with an eight-game stretch from Nov. 11 to Dec. 19 (previous record was six games), and set a new record for consecutive losses with 16 from Jan. 8 through Feb. 6 (previous record was 13 games in 1976). In addition, Chicago endured the longest road losing streak in franchise history, dropping 25 straight on the road from Dec. 21 through Apr. 10.
A bright spot in the 2000âÂÂ01 Chicago Bulls season was starting 2âÂÂ0 after the All Star break, with upset wins at home over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, February 13, and the Miami Heat on Saturday, February 17, 2001.
The Bullsâ home sellout streak ended at 610 games on Nov. 3 vs. New Jersey, marking the third longest sellout streak in NBA history. Prior to that, the last time the Bulls failed to sell out a home game was Nov. 17, 1987, vs. Washington. Other news items from the season included second-year forward Elton Brand (sophomore team) and rookie guard Khalid El-Amin (rookie team) both participating in the Schick Rookie Challenge at All-Star Weekend, and Marcus Fizer being named to the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team.
Net rating: âÂÂ10.1 (29th of 29)
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Drafted Eddy Curry in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 2001 NBA Draft.
Drafted Trenton Hassell in the 2nd round (30th pick) of the 2001 NBA Draft.
Drafted Sean Lampley in the 2nd round (45th pick) of the 2001 NBA Draft.
Traded Elton Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers for Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner.