What is top of mind now for a number of Chicago Bulls fans heading into the offseason (with just one game remaining during the regular season slate) is what their fortunes are in the looming 2021 NBA Draft Lottery. Since the Bulls traded away their 2021 first-round draft pick, with top-four protection on it, to the Orlando Magic in the deadline day deal that landed them star center Nikola Vucevic and veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu, they need some luck to get it back.
The only two scenarios that could play out where the Bulls have a first-round draft pick this year is if they luck out and get into the top four of the lottery for the second straight offseason, or if they trade back up. All that the Bulls have at the moment among picks that are firmly theirs is a second-round draft pick.
Chicago Bulls draft lottery odds at this moment
According to Tankathon, the Bulls have just over a 26 percent chance to get into the top four of the draft lottery. And they have roughly a six percent chance to land the first overall pick. While weirder has happened, it is much less than a coin flip’s chance that the Bulls get back into the draft lottery from their original pick this year.
Nonetheless, the Bulls did luck out last year and jump up three spots in the lottery odds. In the fourth spot in the 2020 draft, the Bulls selected the former Florida State Seminoles forward Patrick Williams, who has flashed a lot of potential this season.
If the Bulls want to ensure their chances of staying in the draft lottery, they’d likely have to trade back up into the first round. Here’s a look at four prospects in this draft class that could be worth the Bulls trading back up into the lottery.