Chicago Bulls: 3 emerging realistic first round draft prospects

1) Chicago Bulls emerging draft options at No. 4: LaMelo Ball

What a lot of Bulls fans would find to be as a potential grand prize selection for them in this draft lottery is the 6-foot-7 19-year-old former Hawks NBL point guard Ball. If the Bulls really want to address a positional need at the point guard spot and let Coby White play in more of a combo guard role, it’s hard to fault the idea of picking Ball to play next to him.

Now keep in mind that it is a very realistic scenario that if Ball does fall to the Bulls in the four slot, that teams like the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, and/or the Washington Wizards might be looking to move up. The Bulls could take advantage of a team that still has a good lottery pick but is willing to part ways with a lot of pieces and future draft capital to get LaMelo.

Ball played in a dozen games overseas with Illawarra in the NBL. And he averaged 17.0 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.1 blocks. LaMelo shot 37.5 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.3 percent from the free-throw line. He has a lot of kinks to still work out in his game, but LaMelo has possibly the highest ceiling of any prospect in this draft class.

The raw playmaking ability, solid perimeter defense, gifted physical tools, and overall potency in transition could make LaMelo a really special point guard in the NBA. The only questions for the Bulls if they want to draft him are can they either trade up or will he fall far enough in the lottery for them to be able to snag him?