The Chicago Bulls have several roster holes to fill and not enough picks in the 2025 NBA Draft to fill them.
The team needs a rim protector, preferably an athletic one who can keep up with head coach Billy Donovan's up-tempo transition offense. A wing with size who can put pressure on the ball and cover for Josh Giddey and Coby White's defensive deficiencies would be helpful. More three-point shooters are never a bad thing to have in the NBA. Depth in the frontcourt should be on the front office's to-do list.
Unless moves are made between now and June 25, the Bulls will head into the draft with the 12th and 45th selections. They've been heavily linked with a number of prospects, including BYU point guard Egor Demin, Michigan State combo guard Jase Richardson and South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles.
But those aren't the ideal prospects for Chicago. Duke center Khaman Maluach would fit the team's need for an athletic rim protector. Fellow Blue Devil Kon Knueppel would give Giddey and White an intelligent, sharpshooting running mate. Washington State's Cedric Coward has all the tools to become a starting-caliber 3-and-D wing.
Unfortunately, that trio, among other prospects who would fill at least one of the Bulls' most pressing needs, will likely be off the board by the time the 12th pick rolls around. Based on a recent report, though, Chicago has a chance to jump a few spots if its preferred player begins to slip.
Bulls have an opportunity to jump into top 10 of 2025 NBA Draft
Chicago has firsthand experience with scooping up a highly touted prospect who takes a tumble on draft night. Last year's lottery pick, Matas Buzelis, was projected to be a top-five selection at one point during the draft process but fell to the Bulls at No. 11. Buzelis became a starter by the end of his rookie season and was named to the NBA's Second Team All-Rookie squad.
VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas didn't have to wheel and deal to move up for Buzelis, but rarely does one of a team's most desired prospects simply fall into its lap. If a Matas-like slide happens in a few weeks and Chicago needs to jump a few spots to land a prospect like Maluach or Coward, the opportunity will be there, according to a recent report from Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports.
O'Connor relays information from league sources that the Houston Rockets, who currently hold the No. 10 pick, could trade up, use their selection in a deal for a star or trade it for a package of future picks.
O'Connor references last year's draft-night deal in which the Minnesota Timberwolves traded a 2031 unprotected first and a protected 2030 pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 8 pick and the rights to Rob Dillingham.
The Wolves didn't need to give up their own first-round pick, which came at No. 27, to land the eighth pick. Any package the Bulls would need to give the Rockets to move up just two spots would presumably be far less than what Minnesota sent the Spurs last summer.
Or, if Chicago wanted to keep its No. 12 pick and get No. 10, giving up a future first-round pick and a pick swap wouldn't be the worst call.
If the top of the draft begins to break Chicago's way, it would be worth a call from Karnisovas to Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone to see what the Bulls would need to hand over to land the No. 10 pick.