It is now time for the Chicago Bulls‘ new front office regime to start thinking about what the offseason could look like if this team manages to miss the playoffs. After going all out at the trade deadline back on March 25, executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley are now looking at a Bulls team that was one of the most disappointing in the Eastern Conference in the past five weeks.
Missing star shooting guard Zach LaVine for so much time post-trade deadline clearly hurt this Bulls team. But they were struggling to win under first-year head coach Billy Donovan in the past five weeks before LaVine had to miss time due to a violation of the league’s health and safety protocols.
The Bulls are playing well under .500 basketball since the trade deadline, and now are sitting at least 2.5-3 games behind both the Washington Wizards and divisional foe Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings for a spot in the play-in tournament later this month.
Chicago Bulls struggling when it matters most
Following another bad loss to the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks at home at the United Center on the night of April 30, the Bulls now hold a record of 26-37. It is a must for the Bulls, if they want to play any part in the race to land a spot in the play-in tournament in the final weeks of the regular season, that they get a win over star point guard Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks on the road on May 1.
But it doesn’t feel like that is a game that the Bulls could, or will, win on May 1. The Bulls were doing well last week for a while but now hold a two-game losing streak from defeats at the hands of the Bucks and New York Knicks in the past three days.
It does feel like it might be time for Karnisovas and the Bulls to consider what it could look like if they do have a lottery pick in this year’s draft. That might not be out of the question since their 2021 first-round draft pick that they shipped off to the Magic to land star big man Nikola Vucevic was top-four protected.
Here’s a look into three 2021 NBA Draft prospects worth tanking for down the stretch if the Bulls can’t get it together soon.
Draft prospects worth tanking for the Chicago Bulls: Jonathan Kuminga
In terms of forwards with two-way potential in this draft class, there might not be a single one with a higher ceiling once he reaches the NBA than the former elite five-star recruit and G-League product Jonathan Kuminga. The 6-foot-8 and 220 pound Kuminga consistently improved his game with the G-League Ignite in the bubble season during the 2020-21 campaign.
Although the Bulls do already have rookie former Florida State Seminoles forward Patrick Williams in the mix, adding a player like Kuminga could be huge for this starting five. The Bulls would be able to run one of the more versatile starting five units in the East starting next season if they could have Williams and Kuminga switching between the three and the four.
Kuminga has already shown that he will be an excellent defender at the next level. He was one of the better defenders in the entirety of the G-League this past season. And his game improved on offense down the stretch, but he still needs some work in that regard.
In 13 games played with the Ignite last season, Kuminga averaged 15.8 points per game, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks. And he shot 38.7 percent from the field, 24.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Kuminga would be more of a longer-term project for the Bulls if they are to luck out in the 2021 draft and get a spot at or near the top of the lottery. But he could be a great fit nonetheless that the front office would be very lucky to get their hands on.
Draft prospects worth tanking for the Chicago Bulls: Jalen Green
A candidate to be the first overall pick in the 2021 draft will be the fellow former elite five-star recruit and G-League star 6-foot-6 and 180 pound shooting guard Jalen Green. As one of the lengthier and more offensively gifted guards in this draft class, Green would be an absolute gem if the Bulls managed to somehow get him this year.
With the way that the Charlotte Hornets currently injured standout rookie point guard LaMelo Ball turned out so far in his career, I really like the idea of taking on polished players from either the G-League or from overseas. Ball took to the trend of taking his talents overseas instead of going to the traditional college route. And it paid dividends for him thus far.
Playing his one season in the G-League during the 2020-21 campaign with the Ignite (alongside the highly touted Kuminga), Green was fantastic especially on the offensive end of the floor. Green is definitely the more polished of the two elite draft prospects that played for Ignite in the G-League bubble last season.
In 15 games played with the Ignite in the G-League last season, Green averaged 17.9 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks. And he shot a solid 46.1 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Green has an offensive skill set and a potential as a perimeter defender that could make him an All-Star caliber talent in the NBA. That is something that would be hard for the Bulls to miss on if they somehow had the opportunity to pick Green this coming offseason.
Draft prospects worth tanking for the Chicago Bulls: Cade Cunningham
The likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft will be the player that is the final name on this list that would clearly be worth tanking the rest of the way for the Bulls if it meant the chance to land him this year. Former Oklahoma State Cowboys superstar freshman point guard and First-Team AP All-American Cade Cunningham is as close as it gets to a sure thing at his position in the draft.
Oklahoma State had a solid last season with Cade until they ran into the reigning PAC-12 Tournament champs and upstart 12-seed Oregon State Beavers in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. A lot of that was thanks to the way that Cunningham played for them throughout the entire season.
There’s a lot to like about what Cade showed during his one season playing in Stillwater. Cunningham was likely the best player in the Big 12, and it showed down the stretch. He’s a really solid two-way point guard that can stroke it from deep, run well in transition, and effectively drive the lane and get to the charity stripe.
In 27 games played with the Pokes last season, Cunningham averaged 20.1 points per game, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks. And he shot 43.8 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line.
The Bulls need to find a point guard to build around in the near future would obviously be filled immediately if they had any shot to get Cade in this year’s draft.