Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija said recently on The Old Man And The Three podcast that, "The whole world thought Chicago was gonna take me at four," in the 2020 NBA Draft. Of course, that did not happen, as the Bulls decided on Patrick Williams in that spot instead as Avdija fell to No. 9.
Six years later, the Bulls likely regret that pick for a few reasons (Onyeka Okongwu, Devin Vassell, and Tyrese Haliburton all went in the lottery too), but on Tuesday night, Avdija actually helped the Bulls in a pretty big, very roundabout way.
If you didn't know, the Bulls owned the Trail Blazers first-round draft pick if it fell out of the lottery (I.E, if the Blazers made the playoffs). Well, the Blazers are now officially in the playoffs, after Avdija's heroic 41-point outburst against the Phoenix Suns. So, Avdija likely won't ever help the Bulls by playing on the team, but he did help the Bulls get a pretty valuable draft pick... Full-circle moment? Kind of?
Of course, that pick itself doesn't hold much value, and the Bulls still need to actually make the right pick there. But entering this summer with a potential top pick and a pick right on the outside of the lottery is a pretty promising way to kick off a new direction for the franchise.
Bulls just got an extra lottery pick thanks to Deni Avdija
It should be said that four other teams passed on Avdija after the Bulls, so Avdija clearly wasn't the obvious choice there. Still, Avdija himself didn't mince words about how the whole world (himself included) thought Chicago would be the spot for him.
Of course, the front office that passed on Avdija is no longer running things in Chicago, so maybe Avdija getting the Bulls an extra lottery pick is a good omen for the new era of Bulls basketball. Like, all the mistakes the previous guys made are actually turning into positives for the future. Just some food for thought.
Who the Bulls plan to take with that pick is to be determined, and plenty of names will be tossed around in the next few months. I said a few months ago that acquiring talent is priority number one right now, and "fit" should be almost completely ignored. I stand by that. Whoever makes this decision will be under immediate scrutiny to get it right. Even having it in the first place is, in a strange way, thanks to a guy the Bulls probably should have drafted years ago.
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