Chicago Bulls: 3 trades to get back into the first round of the NBA Draft
By Nick Porr
2. Another deal with the Boston Celtics
The Celtics have already made a deal with the Bulls this season, sending fan favorite Daniel Theis to Chicago in a deadline-day trade.
The play-in tournament makes the status of the Celtics’ 2021 first-round pick more complicated than it should be. The Celtics currently sit seventh in the East, with a two-game lead over the eighth-place Charlotte Hornets.
This will give them two chances to make the playoffs: a game against the Hornets, and if they lose that, a game against the winner of the 9-seed/10-seed game. The Celtics, with their positioning and talent-loaded starting lineup, are extremely unlikely to fall into the lottery, but that doesn’t mean their pick won’t have value.
If the Celtics make the playoffs as expected, they would have the 16th pick in the NBA Draft. If their pick enters the lottery, its value will skyrocket beyond this trade’s value, but some much-needed wing depth in Al-Farouq Aminu and Danny Ainge’s beloved future picks should be more than enough to get the Celtics’ first to Chicago.
With the 16th pick, the Bulls would have the opportunity to draft an extremely high-level talent.
Former 16th picks include Hall of Famers John Stockton and current Bulls star Vucevic, meaning there could be plenty of talent on the board for the Bulls if they were able to pick up the first pick outside of the lottery.