NEWSLETTER
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
After finishing with the league’s fourth-worst record and positioning themselves to have a 12.5 percent shot at winning the NBA Draft lottery, the Chicago Bulls dropped to having the No. 7 pick in June’s draft. It’s the third straight year in which they’ll have the seventh overall pick. Ouch.
It’s a frustratingly maddening development. Because even if they didn’t land the first overall pick and the chance to select all-world prospect Zion Williamson, there was at least a 24 percent chance the team would pick in the top two. That would’ve been fun. We could’ve wrapped our arms around the idea of the second best prospect — who on most boards is Murray State point guard Ja Morant — leading the Bulls out of the wilderness. But with those options no longer on the horizon, it’s back to the drawing board for the Bulls.
Here’s how the draft board looks for the first 14 picks:
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New York Knicks
- Los Angeles Knicks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Phoenix Suns
- BULLS
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
- Atlanta Hawks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Charlotte Hornets
- Miami Heat
- Boston Celtics
For what it’s worth, there are more than two players who are available to be drafted in June. Jarrett Culver (Texas Tech SG), Darius Garland (Vanderbilt PG), Coby White (North Carolina PG), DeAndre Hunter (Virginia SF), and Cam Reddish (Duke SF) are among the players who could be available. Those would be intriguing names had we not had our hearts set on bigger fish.
The NBA Draft is 36 days away, so let’s take a lap and re-group in short order.
