No. 4 pick: Phoenix Suns
A weird rumor circulated recently that the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to ship out D’Angelo Russell for an additional top-5 pick. The Suns hold three first-round picks (including the 4th overall), Russell has a character that may rub off teammates the wrong way and Luke Walton taking over as head coach may want a more cohesive and united locker room over another Dwight Howard prankster on the team.
Swarm and Sting
The Suns may deal with the Lakers in a draft-and-trade deal. Among the teams in the top five picks, the Suns are rumored to be the only team that may take Dragan Bender with a top-5 pick and possibly Marquese Chriss.
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough reportedly had a personal dinner with both Bender and Chriss before observing a team work out by both lottery prospects. The Suns have invited virtually all top 20 prospects for workouts, given that they do have three picks in the first 28 selections.
Knowing this, a Taj Gibson trade might not be in the cards with Phoenix and GarPax may either weigh carefully if the players they like in the top-5 are worth shipping Jimmy Butler out instead to sweeten a deal.
If Gar Forman likes a player, he does pull out all stops to acquire him like he did with NIkola Mirotic and Doug McDermott.
Next: How have the Bulls chosen and found players recently around draft time?
These are all heads-up primers on what other teams may like and what to expect given that the Bulls front office do make deals on draft night to acquire whom they like. (That goes as far back as Jerry Krause doing something to get Scottie Pippen.