The Chicago Bulls have failed for years to put together a playoff team, instead fighting their way to mediocrity and losing in the Play-In Tournament. Now they have even failed at tanking, trying to pivot into intentional losing at the trade deadline after winning too many games for it to matter.
While they yet again rue their own decisions, and Chicago fans grieve a complete and utter lack of a plan, this looks like another lost season where they win enough to lose out on a top pick, but lose too much to make the playoff field. And with that being the case, their regret at not taking a bold step on draft night will grow in leaps and bounds.
Atlanta Hawks GM Onsi Saleh may win Executive of the Year despite overseeing a mediocre team himself. The reason? He had the foresight to accept a desperate trade from New Orleans Senior VP of Basketball Operations Troy Weaver and his boss, Executive VP of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars.
The Hawks traded down 10 slots, from pick No. 13 to pick No. 23, allowing the Pelicans to trade up and draft Maryland center Derik Queen. In exchange, the Hawks received the best of the Pelicans’ or the Bucks’ first-round pick this season -- entirely unprotected.
With New Orleans floundering at the bottom of the standings, that pick is now in line to be an exceptionally lucrative one. It has a 14 percent chance of being the No. 1 overall pick and a 52.1 percent chance of landing in the Top 4. If the season were to end today, it would fall no lower than seventh.
The Bulls could have set up their future
That pick could have been the Bulls. The Pelicans were looking to trade back up into the lottery to take Queen after drafted Oklahaoma point guard Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 pick. Chicago held the No. 12 pick and could have made the same deal, dropping down to pick No. 23 and picking up that dazzling unprotected pick in the process.
Instead, Chicago did what it always does: it failed to read the situation from a value standpoint and merely trusted in its own evaluations. They do it with players they sign and trade for, and they do it with draft picks. They thought they had the next Giannis Antetokounmpo when they drafted Noa Essengue, and not even a dead ringer of a trade could dissuade them.
The 2026 NBA Draft is considered to be one of the best in a very long time, and certainly much better than the two drafts coming up in 2027 and ‘28. This is the year to be tanking for a top pick -- which is why so many teams are doing just that, and raising the ire of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
If the Bulls had recognized their situation at the draft, they could have done two things. First, they could have traded for the Pelicans’ unprotected pick and be in line to draft one of those top freshmen -- the likes of Darren Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or the son of a former Bulls star, Cameron Boozer.
They also could have leaned into a losing season themselves, trading away the likes of Ayo Dosunmu, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White during the offseason when they had more value than the Bulls got for them at the trade deadline. Then they could have embraced the tank themselves and been right in the mix for another top prospect.
Imagine where the Bulls would be if Cameron Boozer and Kingston Fleming were coming to town this June, or AJ Dybantsa and Keaton Wagler? Or even Dybantsa AND Boozer? It would transform the trajectory of the entire franchise.
Instead, the Bulls will have a late lottery pick, heaps of disappointment and a raw prospect in Noa Essengue, who showed nothing before suffering a season-ending injury. Perhaps this franchise can take lemons and make lemonade -- but they haven’t been able to do that for a very long time.
The best years for Chicago have come from stars they drafted themselves. Instead of recognizing that, they have settled for mediocrity -- and that decision on draft night not to take the better path will haunt them for a very, very long time.