The Chicago Bulls were by no means a juggernaut in 2024-25. It doesn't feel like much of a win (because realistically, it isn't), but they did finish with 39 victories, 15 of which came in their last 20 games, and headed into the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament playing their best basketball of the season. This was their best shot at making an actual playoff appearance since DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and, to a lesser extent, Lonzo Ball, carried them there four years ago.
That "success" came on the shoulders of a revamped offense that quickly became one of the highest scoring in the NBA. Chicago finished the year sixth in points per game and third in both three-point attempts and makes. The Bulls ran, ran and ran some more, accumulating more possessions than any other team.
Chicago's Play-In demise came at the hands of its awful defense, one that gave up more points per game than any squad other than the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz and let its opponents score 54 points in the paint on a nightly basis. That number was the worst in the league by a solid margin.
Logically, then, it would make sense for the front office to target a shot-blocker or rim-deterrent in this summer's draft. There's another path to improving the defense that doesn't include reaching to improve the frontcourt, however.
It would take some finagling by VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas, but the front office could go hard after another position that may actually make more sense long-term.
Bulls could move around draft, grab multiple wing stoppers
Chicago had some awful lottery luck, because of course it did, coming just a tiebreaker and 0.1 percent chance away from landing the No. 1 pick and changing the franchise with Cooper Flagg. That could've immediately solved the Bulls' defensive woes, among many others. Instead, Karnisovas will have to find a way to upgrade the roster with the No. 12 selection.
Or will he?
If Flagg's Duke teammate, Khaman Maluach, is still available when the Bulls are on the clock, the gigantic yet nimble big man would make sense as a fix to the team's lack of interior defense. At this point in the draft process, that doesn't seem realistic.
Some of the post-lottery mock drafts floating around the world wide web project Chicago to land other big men like Asa Newell or Collin Murray-Boyles. Fit-wise, sure, that makes sense. But selecting either of them in the lottery seems like a reach, which isn't something the Bulls need to be doing at this point in their "rebuild."
Trading down in the first round to collect more draft assets, whether for this year or in future years, would be a wiser decision. There are several other versatile, athletic, projectable and productive stoppers who could help cover for a defensively deficient backcourt and slide into a much-needed spot between Josh Giddey, Coby White and Matas Buzelis.
Armed with this year's lottery pick and all of their future first-round picks, the Bulls could trade back to select one of the following prospects later in the first round and move back into the late first or early second to grab another, potentially solidifying the wing spot for the next handful of seasons.
Drake Powell, North Carolina
Drake Powell landed in Chapel Hill as one of the top prospects in the class of 2024 based strictly on his defensive potential. The Tar Heels had a wildly disappointing season as a team, however, and Powell didn't get the opportunity he deserved.
He made up for that during the NBA Draft Combine.
Powell "tested as arguably the best athlete" at the combine, per ESPN. He had the best standing and running verticals and measured in at 6-foot-5 and 1/4 without shoes to go along with a 7-foot wingspan and 8-foot-7 standing reach.
His offensive skill set needs developing, but he's only 19, and his potential to develop into a defensive menace is far more useful to the Bulls than another scorer would be.
Miles Byrd, San Diego State
Miles Byrd was simply one of the most dominant defensive players in college basketball last season at any position. He's 6-foot-4 and 3/4 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and a nearly 8-7 standing reach, but his defensive instincts are what really set him apart.
Byrd is one of 13 players to post steal and block percentages over four percent and an assist percentage over 15 since the 2007-08 season, per The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann. He finished his sophomore campaign with a 5.1 percent block and 4.4 percent steal percentage combo, according to ESPN, which puts him on par with Houston's Tari Eason and Portland's Matisse Thybulle.
Noah Penda, Le Mans Sarthe Basket
The NBA's French revolution will continue this summer, and one of the more underrated, high-upside prospects who could be available in the 2025 draft is Noah Penda.
Penda is a solid 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward who's dominated his league in France in much the same way Byrd dominated the NCAA. Despite being just 20 years old, he led the LNB Pro A in stocks (steals plus blocks) mostly behind instincts and effort. He's both strong and smart.
Like Powell, his offensive game leaves much to be desired, but as the Bulls are armed with the 45th pick and could potentially buy or trade for another second-rounder, Penda could be a worthy flier as a prospect who fits an archetype Chicago could sorely use on its roster.