Portland’s early season success is great news for the Chicago Bulls

Battered by injuries and achieving a lowly 27-55 record last season, not many expected much from the Portland Trail Blazers this season. While expectations were low, the hopes of the Chicago Bulls that the Blazers could return to prominence most certainly weren’t.

Nobody saw it coming, but Portland has gotten off to an electric 4-0 start to the year, no thanks to their early schedule. The Blazers have defeated last year’s top-seeded Suns team, the two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and his Nuggets, a Lakers team featuring a healthy Anthony Davis (for once), and a Kings roster that features All-Star duo De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

The return of Damian Lillard is largely responsible for this vast improvement, as he’s currently averaging a career-high in points per game, 2-point percentage, and 3-point percentage. For a player of Dame’s stature, this has been no easy feat.

Even if he regresses back to his admittedly already very high mean, Portland finally now has the players necessary to support him for the first time in his career. Anfernee Simons already looks capable of providing everything CJ McCollum ever did, while Josh Hart, Jerami Grant, Nassir Little, and Justise Winslow comprise by far the best forward rotation that Lillard has ever played alongside.

The success of a middling Western Conference team may feel like an unimportant matter for a Chicago Bulls team that lacks a first-round pick in the upcoming draft, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The more the Portland Trail Blazers win, the more reason the Chicago Bulls have to pay avid attention to the 2023 NBA Draft class.

Secured in the trade that sent Lauri Markkanen to Cleveland — and by association, Larry Nance Jr. to Portland — the Bulls acquired the rights to Portland’s next first-round pick that isn’t in the lottery. If this pick doesn’t transfer to Chicago by 2028, however, the Bulls will only receive a second-round pick.

This is why it’s critically important that the Trail Blazers continue to win games now so that the pick transfers as soon as possible. The 2023 NBA Draft looks to be loaded with an excess of young talent, and securing another core piece for the future could make all the difference for the Bulls.

Even if the pick won’t be in the top 14, it’s still important to note how much talent can be found in the middle of the first round. After all, the Bulls selected Dalen Terry at No. 18 in last year’s draft, with another promising rookie in Tari Eason coming just a pick before. John Collins, Jarrett Allen, Tyrese Maxey, and OG Anunoby are just a few more that headline a list of players that have been available between picks No. 15 to 25 in recent years.

It’s also vitally important that the pick conveys this year, because if the Blazers miss the playoffs once again this season, they’re at a very high risk of trading Damian Lillard away to kickstart a rebuild in exchange for a treasure trove of draft picks and young talent. If Portland were to do this, it would essentially ensure they do not make the playoffs for at least the next three years, possibly more.

Just look to the Kings and you’ll see how easy it is to get stuck in decades of rebuilding and basketball purgatory. That’s why it’s so important for the Blazers to win now, because a rebuild would almost certainly mean the Bulls will never get that pick. That’s also why all Bulls fans should be rooting for the Trail Blazers this season, because making the postseason won’t be just make-or-break for Portland this year, it could be for Chicago as well.