The Chicago Bulls lucked out in the NBA Draft Lottery, securing the No. 4 overall pick. However, if the rumor (from Marc Spears of Andscape) that the Washington Wizards are open to listening to trade offers for the first-overall pick is true, then the Bulls may feel a slight twinge of disappointment. Because the Wizards probably want to stay in the top three, meaning the Bulls are, in theory, one pick away from their dream trade.
Drafting North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson – widely projected to fall to Chicago at pick No. 4 – would be great for the Bulls. He’ll give them a perfect infusion of youth. But if the opportunity to trade for No. 1 were there, the Bulls would have to seriously consider it, as the potential top picks in this year’s draft could be generational.
But Chicago may be one pick away from being able to make that happen.
If Bulls were in top three, they could maybe trade up to one with Wizards
For most, the top three players in this year’s draft are far above the rest of the class. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, and Duke’s Cam Boozer all have the talent to be franchise players.
Wilson could get there. He could. He’s an extremely talented player who can dominate on both ends of the court. But based on most people’s evaluations, he’s not quite on the same level as the other three guys.
So, if there were a world where the Bulls could trade up from four to one, they would have to consider it. Dybantsa is projected to be the first pick, and he would be absolutely perfect for Chicago.
Pairing Dybantsa with Matas Buzelis and the rest of Chicago’s young core may be the best possible situation for the Bulls. Dybantsa could be one of the best players in the league in a few years.
Even nabbing a guy like Peterson, if the Bulls would rather select him at one, would be amazing. His three-level scoring has the ability to completely change the direction of a franchise.
However, though the Wizards may be open to trading down in the draft, it seems more than likely that they wouldn’t want to exit the top three. They will almost certainly want to get their hands on Dybantsa, Peterson, or Boozer.
If the Bulls were picking third, perhaps there would be a conversation to be had between them and the Wizards. Perhaps they would be able to offer enough to move up.
But selling Washington on moving all the way down to pick No. 4, effectively taking them out of the running for Dybantsa, Peterson, or Boozer, would be tough.
Chicago moved up a ton in the lottery, but they may be one pick away from a dream trade.
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