Each day until the 2025 NBA Draft, Pippen Ain't Easy will profile one prospect who makes sense as a fit for the Bulls in either the first or second round. These players could fill a need, such as on-ball defense or rim protection, or could fit an archetype that Chicago lacks on its current roster, like an athletic big man or 3-and-D wing. For more prospect profiles and all things draft-related, check out PAE's Chicago Bulls draft page.
The Bulls are in desperate need of a rim protector. Even a rim deterrent would be useful. Any big human being who can stand near the basket and make layups difficult.
A four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year who blocked 3.1 shots per game as a senior would fit the bill. And if that same player, who's 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, hit 67 percent of his threes at the NBA combine, even better. That player's name is Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Matas Buzelis led the Bulls in blocks last season with 75. That was 26th best in the NBA and less than Denver's Peyton Watson (a wing) and Dallas's Daniel Gafford, who played 25 fewer games. Chicago's starting center, Nikola Vucevic, blocked 52 shots in 73 games.
Kalkbrenner blocked a combined 200 shots in his final two seasons at Creighton, including 93 last year. His defensive accolades speak for themselves, but he's proven during the draft process that he's more than just a shot blocker and dunker. He would be a brilliant pick for the Bulls if they could land him with their second-round selection at No. 45.
Ryan Kalkbrenner 2025 NBA Draft scouting report
Kalkbrenner, who again measures 7-foot-1 without shoes with a 7-foot-6 wingspan—both of which rank second in the 2025 class—is one of this draft's most productive collegians. He played five seasons for the Blue Jays, appearing in 169 games and starting 138. He played nearly 30 minutes per contest and finished a storied career with averages of 14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks with shooting splits of 66/31/71.
He enters the draft as the fifth-leading scorer and rebounder in Big East history. He's third all-time in offensive rebounds, led the conference in blocks three consecutive seasons and won Defensive Player of the Year four consecutive times.
He's second all-time in the Big East in PER and win shares. His 65.8 percent field goal percentage is sixth-best in NCAA men's history.
Kalkbrenner's accolades speak for themselves. Yes, he's an older prospect who's presumably reached his ceiling—but his shooting performance at the combine says otherwise.
Offense
For the most part, Kalkbrenner was a typical back-to-the-basket interior scorer at Creighton, as evidenced by his historic shooting percentage. His size and wingspan allowed him to dunk everything, whether off entry passes, lobs or by crashing the glass. He has excellent hands and an array of post moves.
His experience also taught him how to be a connective passer in the flow of the offense, as well as out of the post, and a solid screener. All those skills should translate to the NBA.
What's driving Kalkbrenner up draft boards is his shooting display at the combine. He did hit 34.4 percent of his 1.7 threes per game as a super senior and has always been an above-average free-throw shooter for someone his size, so there were glimpses of upside as a shooter.
But Kalkbrenner lit up the combine, hitting 15 of his 25 three-point attempts and 17 of 23 from the corner. That's good for a wild 66.7 percent on 48 attempts. He was also 19-for-30 shooting off the dribble, 15-for-25 on spot-up attempts and 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. He hit more threes than several guards, including Duke's Tyrese Proctor and Michigan State's Jase Richardson.
That kind of outside shooting raises Kalkbrenner's NBA floor significantly.
Defense
Kalkbrenner's shooting barrage at the combine may have come as a shock, but his dominance in the paint is what made him a draftable prospect in the first place, and that won't change. Given his height, length and low-key strength at 260 pounds, his shot blocking should translate with relative ease.
He'll excel most in drop schemes as he's not the most nimble big man. He'll struggle to stick with guards on the perimeter and will need to stay close to the rim. He's attentive to what's going on all over the floor, though, and is a good help defender.
He never committed more than two fouls per game in any of his five seasons at Creighton despite owning the paint.
Ryan Kalkbrenner's fit with the Chicago Bulls
Head coach Billy Donovan's squad played at the second-fastest pace in the NBA last year. Kalkbrenner isn't athletic enough to run up and down the floor with Josh Giddey, Coby White and Buzelis. But neither was Nikola Vucevic, and he managed to carve out a starting role.
Kalkbrenner is a far superior interior defender than Vucevic and would offer the Bulls a level of rim protection they don't have. And he's not just a big guy who could stand near the basket; he's one of the most elite shot blockers in college basketball history.
Chicago allowed the most points in the paint per game last season, and it wasn't particularly close. Kalkbrenner would go a long, long way toward solving what was one of the Bulls' most glaring issues.
And if his three-point stroke is legitimate, his lack of foot speed would be less of an issue. Vucevic had a career season last year as a shooter in the team's new offense; Kalkbrenner could fill that role while providing a ton more defensively. He profiles as a Brook-Lopez-type big man, capable of defending the rim and knocking down open threes.
He would bring something to the floor, on both ends, that the Bulls simply don't have right now.
For more prospect profiles and all things draft-related, check out Pippen Ain't Easy's Chicago Bulls draft page. A new prospect's scouting report will be added daily.