Latest Mock Draft Has Chicago Bulls Selecting a Very Similar Player

The Chicago Bulls have a type.

Mine is strawberry blonde, the right amount of bubbly, and a little too obsessed with the hit 2010s series Bones (aka my wife). The Bulls is lanky, explosive in transition, and a little uncomfortable with the ball in their hands.

From Dalen Terry to Julian Phillips to Matas Buzelis to Noa Essengue, a lot has been made about Chicago's repeated dart throws at the wing position. The latter two, in particular, drew plenty of comparisons following the 2025 NBA Draft. Buzelis slid down the draft board because of his questionable ball-handling skills, skinnier frame, and inconsistent three-point shooting. What were the dings on Essengue? Well, he provided a raw master-of-none skillset that included all the same question marks.

To be clear, similarities aren't reason enough not to select a certain player, particularly for a franchise so stuck in the mud. The NBA has also started to lean in the direction of having multiple talented wings. The Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown duo has demonstrated the upside of having a couple long, two-way creators. Still, there is only so much developmental playing time to go around, and the Bulls could find themselves in a pickle if they target another young forward.

So ... I bet you can guess who ESPN has going to the Chicago Bulls!

Would Nate Ament Make Sense with the Bulls?

Feb 21, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Nate Ament (10) dribbles the ball past Vanderbilt Commodores forward Tyler Nickel (5) during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

ESPN draft expert Jeremy Woo has the Chicago Bulls selecting Nate Ament with the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Tennessee Volunteers forward was a Top 4 recruit in his class and has averaged 17.4 points with 6.4 rebounds over his 29 games played this season. His squad is currently 25-9 and barely hanging onto a Top 25 ranking.

For what it's worth, this isn't the first time we have discussed Nate Amnet for the Bulls this season. He was sent to them earlier this year with the No. 13 overall pick by Bleacher Report. Why has he moved up the ladder? Well, Ament initially came into this draft cycle as an obvious Top 10 pick. Some even had him sitting right outside the highly coveted Top 3. However, Ament's start to the season was rougher than expected, leading to a slide in the eyes of the experts

Ament managed to turn things around once the calendar flipped to 2026. He started to look a lot more like the talented oversized scorer many expected, averaging 20.2 points on 38.9 percent shooting from deep over a 14-game span. Unfortunately, this hot streak came to an end against Alabama when Ament was forced to leave with a leg injury. He has not played since.

The idea of Ament and Matas Buzelis could make more sense on paper than Buzelis-Essengue. The Tennessee product is already viewed as a capable floor spacer, giving Buzelis the necessary room to work. He also projects to offer more strength and physicality than Buzelis around the rim, whereas Essengue provides a similarly wiry frame. One stat that underscores this is Ament's impressive 7.1 free throw attempts per game. He even has two games with double-digit free throw makes this season. That's impressive at the college level.

Nevertheless, the questions about Ament are pretty familiar. Can he handle the ball enough to tap further into his shooting potential? Is he going to be able to hold his own against bigger bodies defensively? Is there any real upside when it comes to creating for others?

Buzelis is an example of someone who has started to solve those problems, while the jury remains out on Essengue. But that also goes back to the original point: Should you really be trying to develop three players of a similar archetype at the same time? If the Bulls were in a position where they believed Ament was the best available, they should take him. But if this was simply a case of them being attracted to the same type of player, someone may have to step in and slap some sense into them. There are a lot of fish in the sea!

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news