Scott Skiles Frightened Top Draft Picks
Back in 2006 when LaMarcus Aldridge declared for the 2006 NBA Draft, he was a consensus top 3 pick.
The Bulls owned the 2nd overall pick, so a meeting/workout between the two sides was inevitable. At the time, the Bulls were coached by Scott Skiles, a guy who snorted coke and smoked weed between games at Michigan State, encouraged a teammate to fight Shaq in Orlando, and had developed a rep as a real hard ass, as a head coach.
This set up one of the most awkward pre-draft dinners ever!
Picture this: The top brass of the Bulls, like GM John Paxson, other execs, and head coach Scott Skiles are all whining and dining Aldridge at a swank steakhouse in the city.
The kind where they serve you bread rolls when you sit down.
Everyone is settling in and the drinks are starting to flow, but Scott scared the shit out of LaMarcus by staring directly at him for the first 10 minutes or so, without saying a single word.
Afterward, Aldridge said, “It scared me, I hope I play in Toronto (who had the first pick in the draft and ended up wasting it on Andrea Bargnani).”
The Bulls did end up taking Aldridge second overall.
Unfortunately, they dealt him to Portland on draft night in exchange for Tyrus Thomas and Russian Victor Khyrapa, who probably had regular staring contests with Skiles at practice.
As originally seen on: https://thehickfromfrenchlick.com/scott-skiles-frightened-draft-prospects-and-small-animals