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Chicago Bulls: Complete 2017 NBA Draft results

By Luke Bendel

March 18, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Lauri Markkanen (10) moves the ball against the Saint Mary's Gaels during the first half in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
March 18, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Lauri Markkanen (10) moves the ball against the Saint Mary's Gaels during the first half in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s a full breakdown of what the Chicago Bulls did on Thursday night in the 2017 NBA Draft.

The Chicago Bulls did not wait long on pulling the trigger on a trade that many people saw coming sooner rather than later during the 2017 NBA Draft.

Chicago made the choice of trading away Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. The Bulls also swapped picks with the Timberwolves, as they got the seventh overall pick and Minnesota got the 16th overall pick.

A lot of people have been saying that the Bulls got robbed in this trade and that they should have kept their 16th pick or attempted to grab Andrew Wiggins. While this may be true, there are still some positives for Chicago in this trade. They have filled out their guard positions, which has been thin for the past few seasons and they did so with two young, athletic and explosive players. The front office has also said that they expect to have more high draft picks in coming years.

Bulls trade Jimmy Butler, take Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen with No. 7 pick

With the 7th pick in the NBA Draft, The Bulls selected Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen is a 7-foot forward from the University of Arizona.

In his lone season as a Wildcat, Markkanen averaged 15.6 point per game and grabbed about seven rebounds a night. (I will go more into detail in a later article when I talk about why Markkanen was a good pick for the Bulls.)

Bulls trade 38th overall pick (Jordan Bell) to Golden State Warriors for $3.5 million

The Bulls also held the 38th pick in the second round. With this selection, they took Jordan Bell from the University of Oregon. They would eventually trade Bell to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for $3.5 million.

Bell is the all-time leading shot blocker in the history of Oregon, which caused people to question why the Bulls would trade away such a great and athletic defender. The answer is if they would’ve kept Bell, the Bulls would be really imbalanced with so many front court players. Along with the addition of Markkanen, the Bulls are planning to re-sign Nikola Mirotic. There’s just no room for Bell to fit in with the team.

Next: A 10-song draft guide to get your through the Bulls' draft

Although it hurts to see a star like Jimmy Butler go, I can’t say I’m not interested to see how this rebuild goes for Chicago. I can’t wait to see Dunn and LaVine on the court in Bulls uniforms.

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