Writer thinks Chicago Bulls could need LaMelo Ball’s ‘apparent talent’

With the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, who should the Chicago Bulls consider picking to move the rebuild forward?

What to do with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery for the Chicago Bulls will boil down largely to whichever is the best player left on the board at that slot. If top players in this draft lottery (at possible positions of need) for the Bulls like Memphis Tigers center James Wiseman, Georgia Bulldogs shooting guard Anthony Edwards, and/or NBL point guard LaMelo Ball, are all gone, then they’ll have to get creative with the best option left.

But it looks like there is a consensus top two or three that encompasses those three aforementioned players. If the Bulls were to luck out and get any of the three, then LaMelo would have to be the most intriguing of the bunch. He’s got a star level of potential, and might have the highest ceiling of any prospect at the top of this draft class.

Bulls team writer Sam Smith gave his take on the team potentially taking Ball if he’s there at fourth overall in the 2020 draft. In his “Ask Sam Mailbag” on Aug. 26, Smith talked about the possible fit between Ball and the Bulls.

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

"I’d be fine with him given the Bulls needs and his apparent talent. I like him more than many and think he would provide the most excitement (attention?) of all the top draft picks. In earlier mock drafts, I was promoting he and Wiseman one/two in some order. I like his flair as a passer, but the shooting is an issue. His brother’s lack of shooting is holding him back. What’s your view as I’ve never once seen him play."

Drafting Ball would mean that the Bulls either have to move forward in a backcourt without either point guard Coby White or shooting guard Zach LaVine as a set in stone starter. They could play with Ball as the starting point guard and LaVine as the two guard. Or White as a combo guard and Ball as the primary ball handler.

There are legitimate concerns to Ball’s game, including his defensive effort and outside shooting. He shot just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc during his brief stint overseas in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks.

Last year, the Bulls selected White with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the draft. They also got a nice pick out of the former Arkansas Razorbacks big man Daniel Gafford, with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2019 draft.