Chicago Bulls: Trading up for James Wiseman would be a bad idea

If the Chicago Bulls want to move up in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, it should be for Anthony Edwards or LaMelo Ball, not James Wiseman.

That good fortune the Chicago Bulls caught in order to snag the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery back on Aug. 20 should help to push this rebuild along heading into its fourth year. Recently hired executive vice president of basketball operations, and former Denver Nuggets general manager, Arturas Karnisovas already brought some good luck for the Bulls in the draft lottery. The Bulls jumped up three spots in the lottery odds order to snag the fourth overall pick.

Now the biggest looming question for the Bulls in the near future this offseason is what the best move will be with the fourth pick in the 2020 draft. Should they trade the pick or keep it?

And if the Bulls do keep the pick, how will their draft board shake out?

A name that is commonly getting tossed around in the Bulls camp right now for who they could snag fourth overall in the 2020 draft is the former Memphis Tigers freshman center and top ranked high school prospect in the nation James Wiseman. If Wiseman slid down to No. 4 on the draft board, then it might be worth the Bulls taking a flier out on him.

However, if the Bulls would have to trade up in this draft to get Wiseman, it probably wouldn’t be worth the risk. While Wiseman has a versatile two-way skill set and tremendously gifted physical tools, his offensive arsenal might be limited compared to how big men have adapted in the modern game.

A potential trade up in this draft would mean the Bulls likely have to find some package with either the Charlotte Hornets or Golden State Warriors. The Hornets lucked out by getting the third overall pick, and they don’t have much to offer the Bulls in return. But they would likely have a high asking price for the Bulls to even move up this single spot.

The Warriors would command an even greater asking price since they have the No. 2 slot in the 2020 draft. They seem to be actively shopping that pick and are likely to have a lot of suitors. The Warriors also have a number of options they could explore on the trade market with all of the draft capital and player assets they have in the mix.

Moreover, if the Bulls wanted to trade up to snag Wiseman, it would probably involve sending out at least one of three key big men. Center Wendell Carter Jr., power forward Lauri Markkanen, and even Daniel Gafford would likely be involved in this sort of trade talk since Wiseman would fit in as the starting four or five. His best fit would be at the five, though.

Unless there is a bigger trade deal to be made that would go beyond something like WCJ and/or Gafford to the Hornets or Warriors for the second or third overall pick, this shouldn’t really be a move considered by the Bulls. There are other ways to look if they want to trade this pick.

In just three games played at Memphis, Wiseman averaged 19.7 points per game, 10.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and a whopping 3.0 blocks. His film study would have to go beyond what he did at Memphis since his game exposure there was so limited before he left the program.