2025 NBA Draft: Blockbuster Mock Trade Sends Top Prospect Ace Bailey to Chicago Bulls

Ace Bailey | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the Chicago Bulls, it's time.

• Enough with the continuity. It’s not working.

• Riding the treadmill of mediocrity is beyond exhausting.

• And man, are these Play-In Tournament flame-outs getting old.

So, yeah. It’s time.

But it’s possible that the franchise feels like things are 100% cool at the United Center: Y’see, nothing the Bulls have done this offseason indicates they have any interest in, y’know, getting better at basketball.

• Billy Donovan—whose record as Bulls head coach is 195-205, the definition of mediocre—is about to get an extension that’s exceedingly unearned.

• Same deal with VP of Basketball Ops Artūras Karnišovas, who somehow maintains his job despite proving himself to be one of the worst executives in team history.

• And nary a trade has been made.

But I’m gonna put one out there that could change everything.

Won't You Come Home, Ace Bailey?

For much of the 2025 NBA Draft cycleRutgers wing Ace Bailey has been slotted by the majority of mock drafters as a top-three pick, but there are whispers he’s slipping down draft boards across the league.

Turns out his and his management team’s approach to the draft process has been, oh, let’s go with interesting. As reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the Association’s decision-makers aren’t impressed.

“Bailey's predraft strategy has perplexed NBA teams over the past month, as he is currently the only U.S.-based prospect yet to visit any clubs. He has declined invitations from multiple teams in his draft range, which is considered to be anywhere from No. 3 to No. 8.”

Little wonder some pundits are positing the Bulls might try to get into a potential Bailey Sweepstakes:

REPORT:

According to @BrettSiegelNBA, multiple sources say the Chicago Bulls are exploring a trade up in the NBA draft if Ace Bailey is passed at No. 3 by the 76ers or a team that trades into that spot. pic.twitter.com/C8tt0Hgz7c

— ChicagoBullsCentral (@BullsCentral_) June 16, 2025

Makes sense, as Bailey would fill a huge hole at the wing, so if the Sixers take a pass on the Tennessee native, the bumbling Karnišovas should unbumble, pick up the damn phone, ring up Charlotte Hornets GM Jeff Peterson, and offer him this:

CHICAGO BULLS RECEIVE

• Grant Williams
• Wendell Moore Jr.
• Charlotte’s 2025 first-round draft pick (4)

CHAROTTE HORNETS RECEIVE

• Coby White
• Jevon Carter
• Chicago’s 2025 first-round draft pick (12)

Boom. Bulls fixed. Or at least on the way to being fixed.

WHY IT WORKS FOR CHARLOTTE

• Bringing White into the fold give the Bugs either a running buddy or a replacement for the pricey, injury-prone LaMelo Ball.
• With the 12th pick, Peterson can grab a Derik Queen or a Colin Murray-Boyles, a young, cheap upgrade over Grant Williams.
• Their current roster is a mess and, like Chicago’s, needs a reboot. This will do just that.

WHY IT WORKS FOR CHICAGO

• Losing White and Carter clears their guard logjam, leaving Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Lonzo Ball, and Kevin Huerter to handle backcourt duties. Not perfect, but far from tragic.
• Getting Bailey into the building would allow Donovan to radically cut Patrick “Bust” Williams’ minutes, something that would please Bulls fans to no end.
• Chicago would own one of the youngest cores in the Eastern Conference: A starting lineup of Giddey (22), Huerter (26), Bailey (18), Matas Buzelis (20), and Zach Collins (27) or whichever center they land in a potential Nikola Vucevic trade would boast an approximate average age of 22.6.

Given seasoning, this lineup could catapult Chicago off of the treadmill, out of the Play-In, and into the postseason by, say, 2028.

Not a dream scenario. But way better than continuity.