ATLANTA — Point guard Trae Young wasn’t merely on the Bulls’ radar leading up to the NBA Draft in June; he was actually in their building.
Before the draft, Bulls general manager Gar Forman and vice president John Paxson brought Young in for a private workout at the Advocate Center in an effort to gauge his makeup in case he was still around for the No. 7 overall pick.
It didn’t happen because Young was selected No. 5 overall by the Mavericks and traded to the Hawks for swingman Luka Doncic.
The consolation prize — if 6-11 and 19 years old could be considered a consolation — was big man Wendell Carter Jr.
On Saturday, at least, the Bulls had to feel pretty good about how things have worked out with that.
While Young was making questionable decision after questionable decision in the Bulls’ 97-85 victory, not to mention going 3-for-12 from the field and 0-for-6 from three-point range, Carter notched the first double-double of his career by scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
‘‘It was great to see for Wendell, great for his confidence,’’ coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Hoiberg also had to like that his players executed the game plan and didn’t criticize it afterward.
Twice in the last week — inadvertently or not — guard Zach LaVine and forward Jabari Parker had questioned the Bulls’ play-calling and schemes after losses.
Both had big games against the Hawks, with LaVine scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds and Parker scoring 18 points off the bench and making an effort on defense.
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The Bulls allowed only 19 points in the second and third quarters, a far cry from their defensive disaster in a 135-106 loss Friday to the Hornets.
‘‘They didn’t like how [Friday] went,’’ Hoiberg said. ‘‘They watched the film session, and they were embarrassed. I could see it in their eyes that they were going to come out with a good effort.
‘‘When the ball wasn’t going in the hoop, we stuck with it. That’s been the problem the first five games, but we stayed with it, did a good job with our schemes. I couldn’t be prouder with the effort.’’
LaVine agreed.
‘‘It was good to get a win, to come back and bounce back after [Friday],’’ LaVine said. ‘‘I was upset with the effort that we gave. . . . It wasn’t a good feeling, not even being able to compete, really, because we really didn’t play in the fourth quarter. It was upsetting, but it was good to bounce back now and get a win.
‘‘That’s the thing about the NBA: You can’t dwell on it.’’
The player who had the locker room the most excited after the game was guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who used his physicality to take Young out of the game. That was one of the knocks on Young coming out of Oklahoma, and Arcidiacono exploited it. He also matched Young by scoring 13 points, including three three-pointers.
‘‘We were just trying to be aggressive,’’ Arcidiacono said. ‘‘I know I’m really not a proven player in this league, but I’m just going to shoot it with confidence.
‘‘We had a bad taste in our mouths [after Friday]. We knew that wasn’t us.’’
