Since the Chicago Bulls don’t own any rights to a single pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft, we’ve had to get a little creative to invent new avenues to improve this summer. Whether that means being active in signing undrafted players, or trading back into the draft, the Bulls would be foolish to let the pass by without adding any new talent to the roster.
But how did we get into this situation in the first place? After trading away a budding superstar in Jimmy Butler and failing to win 32 games or more in four consecutive seasons, Chicago surely should have accumulated quite the treasure trove of young talent and draft picks, right?
Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as Chicago wasted three consecutive lottery picks from 2016 to 2018, and has since failed to develop a rookie into a starting-caliber player since 2019. With the benefit of hindsight, however, things could have played out much differently.
1. The Bulls missed out on MVP talent with Nikola Jokic in the 2014 Draft
To start things off here, we have arguably the greatest draft day misstep of them all. To address the team’s need for shooting around Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, the Bulls dealt away the 16th and 19th picks to move up to the No. 11 slot to select Doug McDermott. Their previously owned picks became Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, both of whom have arguably had more impactful careers than McDermott thus far.
Ironically, Zach LaVine would be selected just two picks later at No. 13, which would have saved the franchise a whole lot of trouble regarding the Jimmy Butler trade. However, the biggest miss here undoubtedly goes to Nikola Jokic, who was famously drafted in the second round at No. 42.
2. The Bulls shouldn’t have let Pascal Siakam slip by in the 2016 Draft
Sticking to their mantra of shooting over everything, the Bulls selected a relatively unskilled player in Denzel Valentine at No. 14 in the 2016 NBA Draft. Once again ignoring international talent, Pascal Siakam would emerge as arguably the best player of his draft class at the 27th spot. With two All-NBA nominations under his name already, Siakam would certainly have been the best player in a Bulls uniform since 2016.
Dejounte Murray (29th) and eventual Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon (36th) were also still on the board, each of whom would have put an end to Chicago’s long-standing point guard vacancy. To this day, this team is still trying to pick up the pieces from the error made on that draft day.
3. Chicago butchers the Butler trade and misses out on a great 2017 Draft class
Sending Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, the Bulls actually gave up the No. 16 pick in that deal and only received one pick (No. 7) in return. In today’s market, a player like Butler would fetch at least four first-rounders and likely a few swaps, but the Bulls effectively only received one swap. This was used to select Lauri Markkanen, a player who would immediately become an All-Star after the Bulls failed to develop his game and sent him packing.
If Chicago had kept both the 7th and 16th picks — and possibly more, if they were competent negotiators — they would have had the opportunity to select massive difference-makers such as Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, or Kyle Kuzma.
4. The Bulls blow yet another high lottery pick in the 2018 Draft
Entering the 2018 NBA Draft with the No. 7 overall pick, the Bulls had a real chance to right their previous wrongs and select a player who would be a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Of course, they ended up wasting the pick on Wendell Carter Jr., whom they would subsequently trade away after just two and a half seasons with the team. Even worse, the trade they made was arguably even worse than the decision to draft Wendell in the first place.
After seeing both Shai-Gilgeous Alexander (11th) and Mikal Bridges (10th) blossom on their new teams, it’s incredibly frustrating seeing the Bulls opt for a player that doesn’t fit the modern NBA rather than these two young stars. Even worse, the Bulls wasted the 22nd pick on Chandler Hutchison, who was the worst player selected in the entire first round, when Anfernee Simons (24th) and Jalen Brunson (33rd) were right there for the taking.
5. Tyrese Haliburton would have solved the Bulls’ point guard problem in 2020
Lucking out in the lottery to move up to the 4th spot in 2020, many people thought the Bulls were primed to pick a real franchise player. Unfortunately, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball were already off the board by then, so the newly-appointed front office surprised everyone with their decision to reach for Patrick Williams. Instead of selecting an NBA-ready talent like Tyrese Haliburton, the Bulls picked a project player that would blow up in their face.
Since he’s (regrettably) still the most promising prospect on the team, I have to hold out hope Pat can make good on his future potential, but it’s crushing knowing that the easy selection was right in front of our faces all along with Haliburton. If the Bulls made good on even just one of these drafts with their high picks, the future outlook of this team would be entirely different.
Instead, we’re left to reminisce back on 2011, the last time the Bulls made an impactful draft pick. And now we have to hope he makes the most of his postseason run and wins a championship, even if it’s for another team.