The Bulls Need To Get In On This Draft
Every decade there seems to be at least one team stuck in mediocrity for a handful of years, until they either luck out in the draft or decide to enter a full-on rebuild. In the current day NBA, you can find quite a few teams in that position, such as the Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and Toronto Raptors. If it weren't for the fact that the Portland Trail Blazers have both an established superstar, and the third overall selection, giving them pathways to both competitiveness or a rebuild, they would also have made the list.
The Wizards and Raptors hold No. 8 and No. 13 respectively, and Washington also have two second-rounders to spend in the upcoming June 22 draft. That provides them with some wiggle room for change, especially if they hit on their draft selections.
The Bulls, however, are currently entering the draft with zero selections in either round, having forked over their selection to Orlando as part of the horrendous Nikola Vučević trade in 2021.
For a team in such dire need of change, not having a single pick in this strong of a draft class, and with no hope in sight for the return of Lonzo Ball - maybe ever - is an outright disaster.
You could have easily talked yourself into the Bulls if they had retained No. 11 and walked away with any one of Cason Wallace, Brice Sensabaugh, or Taylor Hendricks. And odds are good that at least one would have been on the board.
But for the Bulls, who missed the playoffs and are on the threshold to basically return most of the same roster next year, where upgrades going to come from, if not from via the draft?
The organization is entering the offseason with needs of retaining Vučević, an unrestricted free agent, as well as Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, both restricted free agents. That'll eat up most of the space they have under the luxury tax, and for... what, exactly? A 40-win team that'll find themselves beaten out of the play-in tournament?
This is my not so subtle way to say: Get into the draft, Bulls. Particularly, this draft.
Forget about the current core, that offers a very limited ceiling, and pivot off both Vučević and DeMar DeRozan. Even if the most you can get in return for DeRozan is a late lottery selection, pull the trigger. You can then see which type of player fall into your lap, and from there determine whether or not to trade Zach LaVine during the summer.
Or, perhaps it's time to be even more bold.
The Charlotte Hornets, holders of No. 2, already have LaMelo Ball in the fold. Why not add one of the league's most explosive off-ball scorers in LaVine, while getting off the contract of Gordon Hayward in the process?
Or perhaps even more daring, how about giving Ball both LaVine and DeRozan to play with next season?
The deal would be Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, and No. 2 for LaVine and DeRozan, providing Charlotte with an enormous - and immediate - talent injection which will improve the team, and likely give them a decent chance of making the playoffs during a period where the Hornets are up for sale.
Now, obviously, it takes two sides to agree the parameters of such a deal. The Hornets might prefer sticking with No. 2 and go for Brandon Miller while letting Hayward expire after next season. Is Miller a good enough player to turn down the chance of LaVine and DeRozan? I'd argue no personally, but if the Hornets were to seriously consider Scoot Henderson instead, then things get a lot murkier.
(As an aside, I pitched this trade idea to Twitter, and so far Bulls fans and Hornets seem to be in total agreement that such a trade is bad, but for very different reasons. So who knows?)
A different path for the Bulls could be to stand pat, and see if they could find resolution with Portland. The Blazers owe the Bulls a first-round pick that's lottery protected up to, and including, 2028. That disallows the Blazers to move future picks, unless they acquire several others in the process - which seems unlikely.
Assuming the Blazers are in on Damian Lillard, and severely committed to his future, they'll need to free up assets to move for roster upgrades. That means negotiating with Chicago in getting their pick back.
One idea floating around is Portland sending No. 23 to the Bulls (rerouting a pick from New York), to settle the matter. The Bulls could play hardball, knowing the Blazers need to free up those trade assets, but No. 23 isn't a bad selection in this year's draft, so they might as well entertain that offer.
Needless to say, those are two very different approaches, but the theme remains the same. If the Bulls are to have any hope for the future, getting quality from this draft is crucial.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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