Following the selection of Noa Essengue with the 12th overall pick, the Chicago Bulls were anticipated to select another prospect with the 45th pick in the second round. However, it's appearing less and less likely the Bulls will be adding another prospect through the draft.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Bulls have sent the 45th pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for No. 55 and cash considerations. The trade comes less than 12 hours after Bulls' General Manager Marc Eversley proclaimed the team would consider moving out of the second round completely, or adding a draft-and-stash prospect instead of an immediate contributor.
The Bulls now have 3 options after trading down to No. 55
Eversley's statement comes on the heels of 29-year-old guard Jevon Carter picking up his $6.8 million player option. With Carter electing to pick up his player option, the Bulls now have 12 players under contract for next season.
However, that doesn't factor in the contracts of Essengue or the soon-to-be extended Josh Giddey. Therefore, pending the signings of Essengue and Giddey, the Bulls' roster will be nearly complete with 14 players under contract, leaving room for only one more.
Considering Chicago has the $14.1 million non-tax midlevel exception at its disposal, the final roster spot will surely be made available to sign an impact player, such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker or Clint Capela, among others. The Bulls selected a relatively raw forward in Essengue. Thus, the thought process will surely be adding a perimeter defensive stopper or an athletic big.
As Eversley mentioned, the likeliest scenario is either selecting an overseas prospect to allow him to play out his contract elsewhere before coming stateside, or trading out of the second round entirely. However, with the 55th overall pick now at their disposal, the Bulls may draft a player to sign to a two-way contract, which doesn't occupy one of 15 standard roster spots.
Among potential draft-and-stash prospects are Spain's Izan Almansa of the NBL's Perth Wildcats, Senegal's Saliou Niang of Italy's Aquila Basket Trento, and Australia's Rocco Zikarsky of the NBL's Brisbane Bullets. All three players are worthy draft-and-stash options, primarily because of their still-developing skillsets.
Moreover, the Bulls rightfully moved on from No. 45 in large part due to the seemingly invisible line between early and mid-40s when it comes to guaranteed versus non-guaranteed pacts. A season ago, only two prospects selected before No. 45 signed two-way contracts. Of the players drafted No. 46 or later, nine signed two-way deals.
Thus, with No. 55, the Bulls could just as well retain the pick to select a development prospect with the intention of signing said prospect to a two-way contract. As for a potential two-way signee, think Mexico City Capitanes Dink Pate, Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard, Florida's Alijah Martin, Nebraska's Brice Williams, and Kentucky's Amari Williams.