Chicago Bulls: Bol Bol presents perfect NBA Draft prospect

An almost perfect prospect for the NBA Draft for the Chicago Bulls if not for injury worries would come to the forefront with Bol Bol.

The 2019 NBA Draft class is a great example of bringing a host of “project” prospects to the table that present high-risk, high-reward scenarios for the various teams that take a flier out on them. For the 2019 NBA Draft and the Chicago Bulls, a name that was tossed around a lot of late is the former Oregon Ducks freshman standout big man Bol Bol.

As the son of former NBA standout Manute Bol, Bol Bol could become the next big thing if he manages to mitigate the injury issues. Staving off injury was something that Bol Bol was unable to do during his time in Eugene, OR, though. The Oregon basketball program only got to see Bol Bol play for them for nine games during his true freshman campaign.

However, the scouting profile that Bol Bol brings to the table shows that he could be what almost seemingly doesn’t exist. Building the profile of the “perfect NBA Draft prospect” just doesn’t happen that often in terms of raw physical tools, skill set, and stats from the college hoops level.

Now, before anyone jumps to the overreaction that we’re out of our mind here saying that Bol Bol is the best draft prospect in this class, we need to clear something up. The known factor that he has a ton of pre-existing injury issues is the concern that should push him back either to the back of the lottery or into the 20’s in the first round in general.

Bol only played in nine games with the Ducks last season before he missed the rest of the season due to injury. What he did in those nine games, though, is what fans should be buzzing about ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft lottery. Bol posted an insane player efficiency rating of 37.5 in those nine games and shot well over 50 percent from beyond the arc on roughly three attempts per game.

There aren’t many other players in this draft class that have as pure of a shooting stroke as Bol. He posted a true shooting percentage of 63.2 percent and shot better than 56 percent from the field. And, with a frame that features a 7-foot-8 wingspan to go along with a height of 7-foot-3, you’d think that Bol is almost unstoppable.

Yet, there’s a host of players with that large frame in the NBA now that can shoot and have an incredibly high-ceiling that are having all sorts of trouble staying healthy. The Chicago Bulls have one player like that now with second-year power forward Lauri Markkanen, who stands at 7-foot and 240 pounds.

To build off that point for Markkanen, Bol does have to put on a good amount of size. He weighs in at just 235 pounds. He weighs around 5-10 pounds less than Markkanen but is also three inches taller.

If Bol wants to thrive on both ends of the floor and be able to bang bodies down low, he’ll need to add at least 15-20 pounds this off-season. The injury troubles could continue to pile up if Bol doesn’t put on more strength and size.

The most recent 2019 NBA Mock Draft from Yahoo Sports places Bol as a pick just outside the lottery, at No. 17 to the Brooklyn Nets. That seems to be roughly the spot that most in the national media for the NBA feels like is appropriate for him.

As it pertains to the Chicago Bulls, the relevance to Bol Bol in the 2019 NBA Draft lies with the idea of trading up to the first round if he slips into the late 20’s. With the Bulls having such a large need to just add young talent and depth to the rotation to compete in the Eastern Conference, it is worth exploring the idea of trading up from early in the second round to nab Bol late in the first.