If the Chicago Bulls were lucky enough to snag the NCAA Tournament Purdue star point guard Carsen Edwards in the 2019 NBA Draft, it would be ideal.
The ability of the Chicago Bulls to make the most out of the 2019 NBA Draft is going to be key in shortening the timeline for this rebuild. Potentially the most important event of the entire summer for the Bulls will be the draft lottery that will determine what the next move will be for this franchise’s rebuild. Looking beyond the lottery, how realistic could it be for the Bulls to look to someone like the Purdue Boilermakers star point guard Carsen Edwards in the late first or early second round to boost this backcourt?
There’s a clear need for the Bulls to both boost the backcourt and add to the rotation. At the moment, the bench for the Bulls is among the worst in the NBA. A bench featuring the likes of big man Cristiano Felicio, shooting guard Wayne Selden, and the point guard duo of Shaquille Harrison and Ryan Arcidiacono will not get it done for the long-term.
Even adding a piece in the NBA Draft like the NCAA Tournament star that was Carsen Edwards could boost the current guard group at hand in the Windy City. He’s got a lot of potential at the next level if his outside shooting stays anywhere near the level it was in this tourney.
The logistic side of things for the Bulls to connect with Carsen Edwards is there. Purdue is one of the bigger schools in the state of Indiana and the fans in the Windy City would love to have a Big Ten like Carsen Edwards in the fold.
Where the selection of someone like Carsen Edwards gets called into question for the 2019 NBA Draft is with the spot the Bulls ultimately falling into for this picking order. If the Bulls could get him in the second round, it would clearly be a solid option for the front office.
However, if Edwards gets pushed into the first round discussion, it would be more difficult for the Bulls to snag. If Edwards falls into that late first round discussion, it would likely take the Bulls trading down in the draft for him to land in the Windy City.
With how Carsen Edwards showed out in the NCAA Tournament, he could easily see his stock soar high enough to get first round conversation. He already hit an NCAA Tournament record three-pointers, and Purdue was eliminated before the Final Four. In just four games in the “Big Dance”, Edwards was able to shoot around 50 percent from beyond the arc and hit 28 three-pointers.
Edwards also performed well enough to be named to the All-Region team for pushing the Boilermakers to the point of the Elite Eight in the first place. Two of the four games he played in, Edwards registered 42 points. The other two games also saw him score more than 50 points combined.
There is a good argument that Edwards had the best showing of any player in this NCAA Tournament in general. This type of postseason stretch statistically brought about a lot of comparisons to the former Davidson guard, and current Golden State Warriors superstar, Stephen Curry. In this NCAA Tournament conversation, the Curry-Edwards comparison is very valid.