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Chicago Bulls Blurbs: The Pre-NBA Draft Lottery Edition

By Michael Whitlow

Apr 28, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; The Chicago Bears first round draft pick quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is presented with a Bulls jersey during the game between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics during the second half in game six of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at United Center. The Celtics defeated the Bulls. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; The Chicago Bears first round draft pick quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is presented with a Bulls jersey during the game between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics during the second half in game six of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at United Center. The Celtics defeated the Bulls. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /
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Before the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery takes place on Tuesday night, let’s take a look at some good Chicago Bulls/NBA-related content you may have missed from around the web.

The Chicago Bulls weren’t bad enough to enter the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, but that doesn’t mean the event still couldn’t affect them down the line.

After losing the tiebreaker to the Portland Trail Blazers recently, the Bulls will pick 16th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Tuesday night brings the lottery itself and 14 non-playoff teams vying for a shot at getting the top overall pick in June’s draft. (In case you don’t know how the lottery works, here’s an explanation and what to expect on Tuesday night.)

Despite the Bulls’ lack of involvement on Tuesday, there’s still good Bulls (and NBA) content all over the internet that should come to your attention.

Having said that, here’s the latest edition of Chicago Bulls Blurbs.

Alfonzo McKinnie once paid $150 to try out for Windy City Bulls. Now he’s now thinking bigger. – (@highkin)

The Athletic Chicago‘s Sean Highkin spoke with Windy City Bulls foward Alonzo McKinnie after his appearance at the D-League (soon to be G-League thanks to Gatorade) Elite Minicamp in front of NBA scouts and executives. Highkin held a little Q&A session with McKinnie that was pretty good. Personally, I watched McKinnie play live back in December and he’s a fun athlete. The tools are there for him to potentially make an NBA roster someday.

Chicago Bulls Salary Cap space: The Summer of big choices – (@OldManBikshorn)

SB Nation Blog a Bull contributor Jacob Bikshorn wrote a nice, detailed piece on what the Bulls are looking at this summer with their salary cap entering the 2017-18 season. Will they pick up Rajon Rondo’s deal for one more year? Will Dwyane Wade accept or decline his player option? Bikshorn takes a look at just about every scenario possible for the Bulls this summer.

North Carolina’s Justin Jackson Fits Mold Of Bulls Management’s Draft History – (@CodyWesterlund)

You probably already know this by now watching the Bulls draft over the years, so you probably understand that “upside” and “age” really doesn’t matter to them. They want guys they think that can come right away with experience and produce. That’s why CBS Chicago‘s Cody Westerlund thinks the Bulls could take North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, a key entity as a junior in the Tar Heels winning a national title this past season.

2014 NBA Draft: Nurkic’s impact and the Harris effect – (@very_reasonable)

The Bulls gave up two first-round picks in the 2014 NBA Draft for Doug McDermott, who is already no longer a part of the franchise. Those two picks the Bulls traded were Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, who are both making impacts in the NBA with their respective teams. I apologize for not knowing the author’s true name over at Bulls Confidential, but he’s a very reasonable guy, so I’m sure he’ll understand.

Next: NBA Draft Lottery: Explaining the NBA's Powerball Day

Other things to keep your eyes on:

  • The Ringer‘s Kevin O’Connor comes out with an NBA Draft Guide every year and it’s always fantastic. Bookmark it and check it out when you can.
  • FanRag Sports‘ Jason Patt, Zach Harper and Kelly Scaletta made their All-NBA Team projections with the teams set to be announced on Thursday. Did Jimmy Butler make the cut on their selections?
  • Our friend Mark Karantzoulis is running BullsHQ, a new blog site on all things Chicago Bulls. He’s starting up a podcast and needs questions sent his way. Help him out.
  • Draft Express has the Bulls taking Wake Forest’s John Collins and Baylor’s Jonathan Motley with their two draft picks in their most recent mock draft. (Reminder: the Bulls’ second-round pick will go to the Knicks because of the Derrick Rose trade.)
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