The Chicago Bulls have an Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament date with the Miami Heat on April 16. But given that the franchise could still be looking at a lottery pick in the 2025 draft or, at worst, a mid-first-round choice, it should still be deep into scouting prospects who could help avoid similar postseason fates.
The best player available approach is always wise, but the Bulls have been one of the strongest teams in the NBA since the All-Star break. That doesn’t mean they’re one or two pieces away from contending for a championship, but it does give them the luxury of concentrating a little bit more on need.
For Chicago, that means defense. But is that where the draft experts lean in their post-regular season mocks?
NBA Mock Draft Roundup: Can the Bulls balance out their roster?
Bleacher Report: Collin Murray-Boyles, F South Carolina
BR’s NBA draft guru Jonathan Wasserman has Chicago in line to grab South Carolina big Collin Murray-Boyles with what is, as of right now, its late-lottery selection at No. 13.
Murray-Boyles isn’t the interior defensive presence Billy Donovan needs most in his rotation, but he’s a big, strong 19-year-old sophomore who got a taste of the physicality of the SEC and established himself as one of the conference’s best players.
The Gamecocks’ forward has an old-school offensive skill set. He did most of his damage using power and footwork in the post, and although he showed an expanding face-up game last year, there’s always going to be the question of how a 6-foot-7 “big man” will translate to the NBA.
Sports Illustrated: Murray-Boyles
The draft experts at SI agree with Wasserman. To add to the above scouting report, Murray-Boyles went from shooting 0.0 percent from three on 0.2 attempts per game as a freshman to 26.5 percent on 1.1 attempts as a sophomore.
He got to the free-throw line almost six times a game last year and shot 70.7 percent compared to his debut season for SC, when he shot 66.1 percent on an average of 3.1 attempts.
Those are both examples of legitimate growth from a player with plenty of development still possible.
NBADraft.net: Noa Essengue, F France
The folks at NBADraft.net have the Bulls digging a little deeper and snatching up another member of the league's French revolution in wing Noa Essengue.
Essengue is a long 6-foot-9 wing with high-level agility and movement skills, which allow him to successfully guard multiple positions. He projects as a high-energy, versatile defender who will play a role and do the little things that lead to winning.
Essengue is similar offensively to Matas Buzelis. He uses his length and straight-line drives to finish at the rim and shows flashes of an efficient outside shot, but hasn't proven it consistently. As similarly long, versatile prospects, playing Buzelis and Essengue in tandem at the forward spots sounds intriguing.