Chicago Bulls: Being careful about trading up in 2019 NBA Draft
What if there were a scenario in which the Bulls forfeited none of their future assets and were still able to select Darius Garland at 7?
It may be too good to be true, but this is more than possible to occur. If the current draft order stays put, the world expects the firs three selections to be Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and R.J. Barrett. When the Pelicans are on the lock, should they choose not to trade the pick, would be inclined to take either the best player on the board or a shooter.
Thus, this pick could end up as either De’Andre Hunter or Jarrett Culver, either of which is beneficial for the Bulls. New Orleans is highly unlikely to take a point guard with Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday on the roster, and the same is true for Cleveland due to the presence of Collin Sexton.
Subsequently, whichever of Hunter or Culver is not selected by New Orleans will be snagged by the Cavaliers. This leaves only the Phoenix Suns at the 6th overall pick. Like Chicago, Phoenix is in desperate need of a point guard.
After the Draft Combine, there were multiple rumors stating that North Carolina guard Coby White was given a promise by an unknown team. Many assumed this team was Chicago, under the assumption that Garland would be off the board at seven. Nothing more of this rumor came until more recently, when some exciting reports for the Bulls surfaced.
Rumor has it that the Suns have not done much research into Darius Garland at all and have not even seen him work out. Speculation indicates that Phoenix prefers White as a combo guard due to his ability to play off the ball and allow Devin Booker to dominate the basketball. If this information is true, then Coby White will take his talents to the desert with the 6th overall pick.
This leaves the Bulls at seventh overall with the option to take a guy who they almost traded an arm and a leg to acquire at the four spot. Obviously, this is a best-case-scenario situation for Chicago, but an extremely possible one nonetheless.
Obviously, surprise picks and trades do happen. I would be shocked to see any team but Phoenix take Garland, so if the Bulls felt that the Suns wanted Garland they could propose a much more reasonable trade to move up one spot. If a trade were to happen, I would assume that more teams would be looking to take Culver than Garland.
Just to play devil’s advocate, let’s assume that Garland is off the board due to either a trade or Phoenix snagging him. What do the Bulls do then?