I've heard the Skiles story but I think that's just a cool story the Bulls let out after they'd decided to draft Tyrus to make people feel good about the decision. You don't pay all that money to scouts to then go and make a drafting decision based on whether the coach can win a staring contest with a guy.
QFT
But whatever happened, happened. Unfortunately you can look down every single draft in the history of ... well I was going to say the NBA, then pro sports, but really, anything that would utilize a draft... and from that point you can easily redraft and get what you want on paper. In some drafts you'll pick a player who fits the team and the scheme in place for the building or rebuilding. That has proven to be equally as effective as drafting the talent first. Tyrus should have become a better player in the league than he has, but for whatever mental reason, he hasn't. I'm not going to debate whether or not I liked the pick, but I don't think anyone saw him being this big of a disappointment on draft day.
The ironic part about LaMarcus, is that he had a lot of lucky breaks to help him get to where he is today. He played for a team that saw injury after injury, including his own. At points of time, when he wasn't ready to carry the team, he had no choice but to take that role. That kind of development pays off bigtime, that same type of development would not have happened for him in Chicago, although that doesn't mean I'm saying he wouldn't find other ways to get better. Tyrus stayed pretty healthy and could have had that very same role and blossomed, or more importantly, had his ego put into check(which is why I think he never really panned out to his high pick status.)
It's all about that risk-reward. Dwelling about it now wont do us a bit of good. If anything, and like so many mentioned, we landed Rose by some miracle.
I would like to put Luol Deng into the debate for MIP. I don't think he SHOULD get it, because I have a few people who bounce around in my head that are ahead of him. Luol has done things for this team, that nobody expected of him going into the season, and may have only been expected of him after the day he signed that big contract. He could have easily milked his contract and played down in his past injury fears, but he hasn't. He's playing harder than any single player in the league, that has come back from such injuries. Deng certainly has a case for MIP, and if he didn't get any votes, or if he didn't finish in the top 5 for voting, I would be disappointed.
