The Moment of Truth
Ok, ladies and gentlemen, the NBA Draft is tomorrow night! When all the smoke clears, there will be a new member of the Chicago Bulls.
Yes, the moment of truth is at hand, who will the Bulls select with the #7 pick? Will it be a point guard in Darius Garland or Coby White? Or a wing like Jarret Culver or De’Andre Hunter? Or maybe Cam Reddish or Sekou Doumbouya. Will the Bulls even pick at 7 or will they be able to trade up? Perhaps they trade down to acquire multiple picks?
Your guess is as good as mines. Let’s use a little bit of logic to figure this thing out.
Photo: nba.com
Point Guard
It is absolutely no secret that the Bulls want to upgrade at the point guard position, although VP John Paxson has gone on record to say the Bulls haven’t given up on Kris Dun, the hopes within the organization was to land the 2nd pick in the draft lottery, in order to draft Ja Morant. With the Bulls falling to the 7th pick, 1 spot behind the Phoenix Suns, who also need a point guard, it seemed like Morant, and Darius Garland could be off the board before the Bulls turn at the podium.
Photo: sportsmockery.com
Coby White should be there, but by all accounts, the Bulls like Garland more than White, and have considered trading up to get him. With the 4th pick in the draft now belonging to the New Orleans Pelicans, there have been rumors of the Bulls trading their 7th pick as well as next years 1st round pick to New Orleans for # 4, that pick would then be used to snatch up Garland.
If the Bulls were to complete that trade, the front office would have to be confident in not only Garland’s skills but also that they will be a playoff team this coming season. Otherwise trading to move up 3 spots and giving up a possible lottery pick, is too risky of a move, especially with next years draft being point guard heavy.
Wings
A good wing player is more essential to winning in the league today more than ever, just ask the new NBA Champion Toronto Raptors how having a superstar wing in Kawhi Leonard worked out. As I mentioned next years draft is point guard heavy, so there has also been substantial rumblings of the Bulls selecting another wing player with their pick. Several rumors have developed where the Bulls trade up, by trading away the #7 pick and Zach Lavine, in order to draft Jarret Culver. Not sure why people think the Bulls would trade away Lavine who was the teams best player last season, and sure to be in the running for an all-star appearance next season.
Photo: sportsmockery.com
The Bulls goal for this season is making it back into the playoffs, and that just doesn’t happen, by trading away Lavine, it sets the timeline on the rebuild back even further, by trading a near all-star for an unproven rookie. In addition, the Bulls will have Chandler Hutchison and Denzel Valentine returning from injury this year, those players will undoubtedly be backing up Lavine and Otto Porter Jr. on the wings. So how would a player like Culver, De’Andre Hunter or Cam Reddish crack the rotation, unless the Bulls plan on finding a way to trade Valentine or Hutch. The Bulls like Hutchison who they drafted last year, and remain high on Valentine, whose playmaking and outside shot, should help the bench play tremendously. Drafting a wing here just doesn’t make much sense.
Big Men
Photo: NBA.com
Paxson has talked a lot about bringing in veteran players, in order to help guide their young core of players in the right direction, and add some toughness to the team. The Bulls would be better off finding a veteran big man, such as former Bulls player Taj Gibson, or Marcus Morris, also resigning Robin Lopez wouldn’t hurt either.
The Bulls have worked out Sekou Doumbouya, and Jaxson Hayes. Both were said to have impressive workouts. Now after the point guard position, the Bulls are definitely in need of back up big men. The Bulls traded away both of their reserve power forwards last season to acquire Porter Jr., and their only backup center under contract is the much mangled Cristiano Felicio. While the Bulls definitely shouldn’t be faulted for looking for a player to back up Lauri Markkanen or Wendell Carter Jr., it shouldn’t be done in the draft.
My Opinion
With taking everything into consideration, I believe the Bulls should remain at #7, there just isn’t much reason to trade up 3 spots, if it’s costing you next years pick, which could be a lottery pick if the Bulls fail to make the playoffs. Take whichever point guard falls to you between Garland and White.
If both are gone, draft the best player available. The Bulls have done well drafting at 7 for the last 2 years, tomorrow we’ll find out if it will be 3 in a row.
Featured Images: nba.com, sportsmockery.com
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