NEWSLETTER
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Bulls could have their eye on a trade up the draft board tonight.
Keep an eye on the Bulls looking to get into the late first round for backcourt help, eyeing Miles McBride or "Bones" Hyland from VCU, per a source. Knicks also like Hyland at pick 19 or 21.
Let the games begin ….
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) July 29, 2021
Nay’Shon Hyland and Miles McBride are apparently two players that could influence the team to make a move, per Cowley. Hyland is a bucket-getting guard out of VCU who can score from anywhere on the floor. There is a defensive upside there thanks to his quick feet and lengthy wingspan, but the addition would feel a tad bit odd with a guy like Coby White already in the mix (both could be considered combo scoring guards).
Meanwhile, McBride is another strong shooter who poses more upside as a playmaker. His real promise, though, comes on the defensive end where the Bulls could immediately use his relentless ball pressure.
The idea of the Bulls trading up has lingered for weeks. NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson said in a recent mailbag that the front office is “prepared in case any opportunities arise.” We talked more about that here, but I’ll throw some of my thoughts from that post below:
We also have to consider the timeline of the Bulls’ current roster. While adding another project asset never hurts, the Bulls are also looking for more immediately impactful talent to surround Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. Perhaps that has made the front office even more stingy with their draft evaluations, and perhaps that is why they could be even more inclined to trade up for a talent they believe will contribute immediately.
A guy like Dosunmu certainly falls in that category. He may not be the highest-upside prospect, but he is an experienced college player who could step comfortably into an NBA rotation right away. Chris Durate from Oregon and Quinten Grimes from Houston are two other older prospects that could find themselves in (what I like to call) the “Tradable Twenties.” In the 2020 NBA Draft, we saw plenty of helpful players go in the late first round, including Peyton Pritchard, Malachi Flynn, and Desmond Bane.
I have to imagine those are the kinds of players the Bulls plan to pursue in a trade-up. Sure, they might be open to a more significant jump into the first round, but I’m not sure they are comfortable giving up the assets it would take. The late 20’s range could cost the team’s second-rounder and a guy like Tomas Satoransky. Maybe a contending team in the early 20s (Atlanta or Los Angeles) would ask for Thaddeus Young.
So, yeah, if the Bulls do trade up, I would look at the 25-30 range as the area they target. The organization just does not have the obvious assets to get higher than that, but I guess we can also never say never on draft night!
