Which three 2020 NBA Draft prospects should the Chicago Bulls avoid if they were to trade down in the first round from the fourth slot?
A good amount of luck for the Chicago Bulls in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery landed them the fourth overall pick, jumping up three spots in the odds. The Bulls finally got away from the seventh overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. In each of the last three NBA Drafts, the Bulls wound up picking seventh overall.
One of those seventh overall picks came by way of the Jimmy Butler trade back during the 2017 offseason with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which effectively began the rebuild the Bulls are currently still in. With the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Bulls snagged former Arizona Wildcats power forward Lauri Markkanen.
Then, the Bulls landed the seventh overall pick in the draft lottery on their own in the next two years. In the 2018 draft, the Bulls snagged former Duke Blue Devils potent center Wendell Carter Jr. seventh overall. And then last year, the Bulls got former North Carolina Tar Heels volume scoring point guard Coby White with the seventh pick.
This year, the Bulls have a plethora of options at their disposal for what to do with their first round draft pick. Former Denver Nuggets general manager and newly hired Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas could trade down, keep the pick, or try and trade up with a team like the Golden State Warriors to get the second overall slot.
If someone like former Georgia freshman shooting guard Anthony Edwards or Illawarra Hawks 6-foot-7 point guard LaMelo Ball manages to fall to the Bulls at fourth overall, then they should take them without a doubt. But there is also an option to try and snag another prospect that falls down draft boards.
On the contrary, here’s a look into three NBA Draft prospects that the Bulls should avoid targeting if they traded down in the first round.
3) Prospects Chicago Bulls should not trade down for: Jalen Smith
The former Maryland Terrapins 6-foot-10 and 230 pound power forward, and former five-star recruit, Jalen Smith is highly regarded as a potential mid-to-late first round pick in this 2020 NBA Draft class. Smith was arguably Maryland’s best player on what was a really good team in the Big Ten during the 2019-20 season.
With that, Smith finished out his two year run with the Maryland hoops program with All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors, 2019-20 All-Big Ten First-Team selection, and 2019-20 All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors. Smith was also on the watch lists for the Wooden Award at the midway point of the 2019-20 campaign, and in the late season.
Smith played in 31 games (starting in all of them), during the 2019-20 season for the Terps. He averaged 15.5 points per game, 10.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.4 blocks. Smith shot 53.8 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a career-best 12.0 box plus/minus rating, .249 win shares per 40 minutes, and a sparkling 62.6 true shooting percentage.
Moreover, Smith has a lot of solid stat lines to his name from both of his seasons in College Park, MD. But if he falls as a mid-first round pick in the 2020 draft, then he’s not really worth the Bulls trading down for since they’re pretty solid at the spot in the rotation that he would fill. Smith could be a good stretch big man in the NBA, but his potential might be limited to quality role player.
2) Prospects Chicago Bulls should not trade down for: Kira Lewis Jr.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are going to miss what the former star sophomore 6-foot-3 and 165 pound Meridianville, AL, native point guard Kira Lewis Jr. brought to the table over the course of the last two seasons. Lewis Jr. was a great replacement for the Alabama basketball program after the run ended for former star point guard Collin Sexton (now with the Cleveland Cavaliers).
Alabama has done really well recruiting top notch point guard talent to Tuscaloosa in recent years. And Lewis Jr. is the next NBA-caliber talent that will be heading to the next level by way of the draft. Lewis Jr. received SEC All-Freshman Team honors during the 2018-19 season, and he got 2019-20 SEC All-First Team honors in the 2019-20 season.
Lewis Jr. played in 31 games during the 2019-20 season for the Crimson Tide (all of which he started). He averaged 18.5 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks. Lewis Jr. shot 45.9 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a career-best 5.5 box plus/minus rating, .142 win shares per 40 minutes, and a 56.0 true shooting percentage.
A few potential problem areas for Lewis Jr. includes inconsistent shot selection, a lack of progress from his freshman to sophomore seasons at Alabama, and an increasingly high turnover rate and assist-to-turnover ratio. Lewis Jr. could be a solid playmaker in the NBA, but he looks like his role might be set at decent second or third unit point guard.
1) Prospects Chicago Bulls should not trade down for: Nico Mannion
Maybe the area that the Bulls have the least bit of a need is with a combo guard that is a volume scorer, like the former Arizona five-star recruit and freshman combo guard Nico Mannion. The 6-foot-3 and 190 pound Italy native Mannion definitely had his fair share of ups and downs during his freshman campaign in Tucson.
After his freshman campaign came to a premature end, Mannion rounded things out with All-PAC-12 Freshman Team honors, and 2019-20 All-PAC-12 Second-Team selection. To get those honors, Mannion stood out in most of the 32 games he played in (starting in all of them). He averaged 14.0 points per game, 2.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals.
Mannion shot a rather poor 39.2 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 79.7 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a 5.4 box plus/minus rating, .152 win shares per 40 minutes, 17.2 player efficiency rating, and a 52.0 true shooting percentage. The advanced metrics paint a mixed picture for the results from Mannion’s freshman season.
Coming out of high school as one of the most highly touted recruits for the 2019 cycle, Mannion was anticipated to be one of the more lethal freshmen shooters during the 2019-20 season. Mannion didn’t shoot well consistently, had some trouble at times with on and off-ball defense, and the floor and ceiling are just too volatile to want to use a mid-first round pick for him.