Chicago Bulls: 2019 NBA Mock Draft early March edition

With the 2nd overall pick, the New York Knicks select R.J. Barrett, G/F, Duke University.

If the lottery odds stack up like this, the city of New York is going to be absolutely devastated. The hopes of a new “Big 3” of Williamson, Durant, and Irving would be without Zion if they were to slide to anything but the first pick. However, R.J. Barrett is a phenomenal consolation prize.

With all the hype around his Duke teammate, Barrett has been severely overlooked. A very good scorer and a player who can get his teammates involved, Barrett has superstar potential written all over him, just as Williamson.

In his freshman season at Duke, the Canadian standout has posted 23.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 32 minutes of action per game. The 6-foot-7 inch lefty is an offensive machine, who can get to the rack almost at will, evident in his over 50 percent effective field goal percentage. Barrett also has a nice advantage of being able to play both the two and three positions at a high level.

R.J. is a very polished prospect, however, he is still not a complete player. He is nothing special on the defensive side, though his physical stature shows that there is potential. Additionally, his three point shooting has not been great so far in his collegiate career.

Nonetheless, the Knicks would be taking the best player available here in Barrett, as they would hope he is enough to draw in the free-agent stars that they gave so much up to make room for.

The Chicago Bulls would be ecstatic to land R.J., as he would be a longer-term solution at the 3. In addition, if the Bulls were to land him, they could experiment with a small-ball floor spacing lineup with Dunn at the point, LaVine at the 2, Barrett at the 3, Porter Jr. at the 4, and Markkanen at the 5. Barrett would certainly be a great option for the Bulls if he were to be available when their name is called.