The Bulls haven't exactly had the best draft luck outside of a few miracle narratives (Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose worked out OK). Last year's pick seems to be going swimmingly so far, though, as Chicago stopped Matas Buzelis' draft-night slide by grabbing him with the No. 11 pick. According to one intriguing recent mock, the Bulls could do the same in the 2025 NBA Draft with Rutgers wing Ace Bailey.
Odd things happen during the first round for myriad reasons. Buzelis' inefficiency as a G League Ignite star was worrisome. Villanova standout Cam Whitmore fell to 20th overall in 2023 despite being viewed by some as a top-five selection. Tyrese Haliburton was the No. 12 pick in 2020 after concerns were raised about his lack of elite athleticism and wonky shooting form.
If Bailey does indeed fall to the Bulls at No. 12, the chance to grab a prospect who was seemingly a lock for the top three for most of this draft process would be too good to pass up, no matter his flaws.
The Chicago Bulls could find a spot for Ace Bailey's shot-making
In a fun "chaos edition" mock draft from Zach Harper of The Athletic, Bailey pulls a Buzelis and falls out of the top 10 before Chicago snatches him up with their selection at the back half of the lottery.
Harper mentions that Bailey measured 6-foot-7½ at the combine, rather than his listed 6-foot-10 at Rutgers, which admittedly changes his projection at the NBA level. Rather than be a jumbo scorer, Bailey would be a "regular" wing scorer.
There are other reasons to be dubious about the former Scarlet Knight as a prospect. He's a talented shot-maker to be sure, but his shot selection leaves a lot to be desired. He settled for far too many mid-range jumpers in college, doesn't have a high-level handle to take defenders off the dribble, turned the ball over too much and got to the free-throw line fewer than four times per game despite his whopping 27.5 percent usage rate.
Still, there's no denying Bailey's ability to rise up with his 7-foot wingspan and make tough shots. There aren't many players who come into the NBA with the kind of pure scoring chops that Bailey does. He's still young, can pour in points from all three levels and has the size and athleticism to become an above-average defender if he wants to.
It's also fair to wonder how much of his inefficiency was tied to the lack of talent surrounding him and projected No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper at Rutgers.
Keep in mind, this is a mock draft exercise that has the Dallas Mavericks trading Cooper Flagg to the San Antonio Spurs, so take everything with a huge grain of salt. But should Bailey start to slide, he could free-fall for a while. It's not totally implausible that the Bulls end up with a chance to grab the second-ranked prospect in the 2024 high school class.
For all things draft-related, check out Pippen Ain't Easy's Chicago Bulls draft page.