Numerous prospects have been linked to the Chicago Bulls in recent weeks. From the beginning, a replacement for 34-year-old center Nikola Vucevic was the most obvious candidate, namely, Duke's Khaman Maluach.
As time passed, drafting Maluach, and more specifically, a viable replacement for Vucevic, went by the wayside. The 2025 draft class lacks high-end centers, with tweeners being more of a commodity. Thus, the Bulls have zeroed in on several combo forward-centers. Among these tweeners are South Carolina's Collin Murray-Boyles, Georgia's Asa Newell, Georgetown's Thomas Sorber, France's Noa Essengue, and Maryland's Derik Queen.
Although Chicago has been said to covet interior defenders, the ideology of selecting the "best available prospect" persists. That said, FanSided's latest mock draft doubles down on this theory. The mock draft sees the Bulls nabbing Queen with the 12th overall pick, over Sorber, Newell, and even Texas's Tre Johnson—a guard, albeit a top-10 projected prospect.
Derik Queen is an intriguing prospect, yet ill-fitted for Chicago
Christopher Kline, who penned the mock draft, wrote, "I'm not 100 percent solid on Derik Queen and Josh Giddey coalescing due to spacing concerns and defensive limitations, but Chicago needs to swing for upside and odds are, Giddey won't outlast Queen if or when the Bulls start to become competitive again."
The aforementioned concerns are valid. The Bulls are seemingly dead set on retaining Giddey, who impressed a season ago, especially post-All-Star break, yet he's still very much flawed. Giddey is a defensive sieve who doesn't have a natural position on the less glamorous end as a jumbo-sized point guard. Furthermore, he's only demonstrated a compelling three-point shot for half a season in the NBA.
Queen, although a power forward, is uniquely similar to Giddey. He isn't an imposing defender, primarily due to his athletic limitations, and he didn't stretch the floor despite suiting up at the four for the Terrapins. Queen posted bottom-three marks in every athletic test at the NBA Combine and converted merely 7-of-35 three-point attempts at Maryland.
On the flip side, both Giddey and Queen are distinctive offensive talents, regardless of their high-volume shooting or lack thereof. Giddey is a preternatural passer developing into a lethal driver, capable of scoring 20 points per game. Queen is arguably the most skilled big man in the draft. He's clever scoring in and around the paint and possesses a guard-like handle.
That brings us to Kline's well-articulated argument, casting doubt on a Giddey and Queen partnership. However, Kline alleviated the concern by projecting the Maryland product to outlast Giddey in Chicago. While reasonable, it's not exactly a plausible distinction to make. Queen is only two years younger than Giddey. Moreover, the Bulls are expected to re-sign the 6-foot-8 guard to a five-year deal in the coming weeks, aligning, and more, with Queen's hypothetical contract.
The Bulls need as much talent as they can extract, but fit must also play a factor. Neglecting defense is downright inconceivable. The Bulls' newfound space-and-pace offense yielded promising results in year one. However, Chicago's defense left much to be desired. The Bulls finished 28th in opponents' points per game, 30th in opponents' paint points per game, and 19th in defensive rating. A more than capable defender must be prioritized on June 25.