Creating Fake Draft Leverage, Judging Draft “Steals,” Wading through the Smoke, and Other Bulls Bullets

Every time I look up at the clock today, I expect it to be at least five hours later than it is. I mean, seriously how the hell is not draft time yet?

We have already gotten a handful of juicy draft reports and Bulls rumors, and I expect that will only continue until Adam Silver speaks those pressure words, “with the 4th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select ….” Anyway, since we have so much other stuff to talk about and my mind is racing faster than Usain Bolt on a moving walkway (isn’t fun to walk across those in the airport and feel like a superhero flying above those slow peasants using the normal floor?), we are going to do some relatively short bullets for today. Let’s jump in.

•   No one knows what the hell the Bulls are going to do tonight. And, honestly, I can’t stress that enough. While we will continue to share practically every rumor that comes from a legitimate source, we also want to stress that those rumors should be taken with a grain of salt. With zero information coming from the Bulls front office, it makes it even easier for people around the league to jump to conclusions or make up their own theories. In fact, there is a good chance we experienced that first-hand this morning with the trade proposal between the Bulls and Warriors. The Golden State front office could simply be trying to create hype around their No. 2 pick – one that they have been eager to trade – and using the team no one knows anything about is an easy way to do that.

•   Also, for what it’s worth, Both Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times and NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson seem to want fans to err on the side of caution with all these last-second rumors.

•   Now, none of that means the Bulls are not answering all calls. I do believe that Chicago has gotten their fair share of trade proposals, but I also think Arturas Karnisovas will have to be blown away by a deal to pull the trigger on anything. The organization did just invest in player development, and all signs point to both Karnisovas and Marc Eversley being strict evaluators. I still think the Bulls new brass wants a real, first-hand look at these young core members before deciding to part ways with any of them.

•   Quick question: How often do you think the fan-favorite to be the “steal” of the draft actually proves to be just that? Every year I feel like there is this big divide over one or two prospects between fans/analysts and NBA scouts. Part of me wants to say that guy in this draft is Killian Hayes. He continues to be a late lottery pick in most mock drafts, but so many act as if he should be a top-3 guy. Clearly, a good portion of scouts do not see him that way. I mean, they could be wrong, but they typically know better than us.

•   Why … why would you do this?

•   Speaking of which, last year’s draft night steal is pumped for tonight:

https://twitter.com/Dan_G33/status/1329122300453675010?s=20

written by

Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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