Sam Smith thinks Chicago Bulls would pick Wiseman over LaMelo

Who would be the best option for the Chicago Bulls to go with if they were to win the lottery and get the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft?

Now just two days away from the start of the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, one of the more important markers of the 2020 offseason is just around the corner for the Chicago Bulls. According to the Tankathon odds, the Bulls have the seventh best odds (yet again) to get the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. They have a 7.5 percent chance of getting the first overall pick, and a 32.0 percent chance of landing in the top four.

This at least gives the Bulls a shot to land at least in the top four or five picks. If the Bulls were to land with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the draft for the fourth straight year, it might actually drive the fan base insane. They haven’t necessarily struck out yet with any of their past three seventh overall picks, but didn’t hit the jackpot either. That’s usually what happens when you get the seventh overall pick.

Last year, the Bulls took a flier out on the former North Carolina Tar Heels 6-foot-5 point guard Coby White with the seventh overall pick. In the previous two years, it was former Arizona Wildcats power forward Lauri Markkanen and Duke Blue Devils center Wendell Carter Jr. that were the seventh overall picks.

Hopefully this draft lottery spells better odds for the Bulls to get into the top three or five. Maybe even win the lottery and get the first overall pick.

But if the Bulls were able to win the draft lottery this year, who would be their best pick first overall?

There are varying opinions on that right now. Bulls team writer Sam Smith (formerly of the Chicago Tribune) gave his thoughts on the matter in his “Ask Sam Mailbag” on Aug. 18. He still thinks that the Bulls would pick the former Memphis Tigers center and seven-footer James Wiseman over the NBL 6-foot-7 point guard product LaMelo Ball if they pick first overall.

Here’s more on what he had to say on the matter.

"As long as they don’t get eight or nine, right? We can always hope. The caveat I offer is I’m never quite certain since I haven’t seen any of these guys play. Of course, the way things have gone this season with the virus and many college players, like Ball, even leaving the country hardly anyone has seen anyone play. Wiseman seems like a difference maker, which is what the top of the lottery generally is about if you get that chance. The Bulls have done about as well as they could the last three drafts given having the No. 7 selection. It’s not like they made huge oversights."

At this point, the consensus first overall pick in this draft would have to be either Ball or the former Georgia Bulldogs star freshman shooting guard Anthony Edwards. Other prospects like the USC Trojans big man Onyeka Okongwu, French guard Killian Hayes, and Maccabi Tel Aviv guard/wing Deni Avdija, and Wiseman, among others, could still creep into that conversation.

The Bulls should be picking best player on the board now instead of for positional need. There’s no clear positional need for the Bulls, as long as veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. remains healthy next season, that really sticks out right now.