2020 NBA Draft: Deep sleepers the Chicago Bulls should watch

An area where the Bulls really need help if the injury struggles continue for both Chandler Hutchison and Otto Porter Jr. at the small forward position, is with a three-and-D wing. When he’s on, Hutch is at least a serviceable three-and-D wing that can play off the bench in the second or third unit.

OPJ is a quality starter for the Bulls when he’s on and healthy too. The problem is that in the 65 regular season games that this team played prior to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced NBA hiatus, OPJ and Hutch only combined to play in 42 games. Both have struggled with injuries in the past, and thus the Bulls need to have a contingency plan in place if that happens again.

There’s a plethora of upperclassmen that are likely to be available in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft that offer a lot of value in that three-and-D wing role. One that could be a possible second or third unit wing off the bench for the Bulls if they took a flier out on him late in the 2020 draft is former Syracuse Orange junior small forward Elijah Hughes.

After a stellar junior campaign with the Cuse, Hughes declared for the 2020 NBA Draft and passed on his senior season in college. He played in 32 games last season (starting in all of them), while averaging 19.0 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals, while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Hughes has some upside as an NBA-caliber defender and his shooting improved steadily after he transferred to join the Orange from the East Carolina Pirates basketball program. He could be a solid find in the second round for Karnisovas and the Bulls.