Here\u2019s what to know about the Bulls, their potential picks and the rest of the NBA ahead of Wednesday\u2019s first round.<\/p>\n
What has changed?<\/p>\n
Despite the endless flurry of chatter and speculation<\/a> during the six-week span from the NBA combine to draft night, this stretch of the offseason is typically a dead period for new information. None of the potential draftees grew 4 inches or developed a different jump shot in the last month.<\/p>\n But a few pieces of drama around the league might have slightly shifted expectations for Wednesday.<\/p>\n The Houston Rockets traded the No. 10 pick<\/a> \u2014 along with Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and five second rounders \u2014 to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday in exchange for 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant. And the Orlando Magic swapped the No. 16 pick<\/a>, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and a heap of future first-round stock for Desmond Bane in a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies on June 15.<\/p>\n Projected top-five pick Ace Bailey also caused a stir in the final week before the draft when he declined or canceled workouts with a variety of teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers. The 6-foot-7\u00bd wing didn\u2019t exactly wow executives during his predraft interviews at the combine in Chicago<\/a>. These early impressions paired with the weaknesses of his on-court decision-making have transformed Bailey into an enigma heading into Wednesday.<\/p>\n What is the Bulls\u2019 top priority?<\/p>\n The Bulls need a center. It has been more than four years since they truly invested in their frontcourt with the acquisition of Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107<\/a>.<\/p>\n Vu\u010devi\u0107 is ready for a new chapter<\/a> \u2014 and as he enters the last year of his contract after another up-and-down season, moving the veteran center is a top priority for the Bulls. Current backups Jalen Smith and Zach Collins are perfunctory placeholders who don\u2019t project as starters.<\/p>\n Luckily for the Bulls, this is a strong draft to start over at center. Predictions have been far from consistent on this year\u2019s frontcourt class<\/a>. Maryland\u2019s Derik Queen and Duke\u2019s Khaman Maluach are widely considered the top two centers, but their projections range from the top five to dropping out of the top 10.<\/p>\n The 6-9\u00bc Queen is a somewhat undersized option, but his passing and finishing in the paint are expected to make up for relatively inconsistent defense. The 7-0\u00be Maluach is a defensive behemoth who, if he fell to the Bulls, could give them the edge in the paint they\u2019ve been sorely missing for years.<\/p>\n If the Bulls are able to land either player at No. 12, they can walk away from this draft with clear upside. But if Maluach and Queen are off the board, the Bulls could be deciding between options such as Michigan\u2019s Danny Wolf, Georgetown\u2019s Thomas Sorber and French teenager Joan Beringer.<\/p>\n There\u2019s always a chance the Bulls scrap the need-based approach and go for the best talent available. That could mean adding yet another young wing or guard with the expectation of trading away young backcourt talent in the immediate future \u2014 or potentially giving coach Billy Donovan the opportunity to run out a no-bigs, complete small-ball lineup.<\/p>\n If the Bulls take this draft-first, trade-later approach, then it might make sense to look at Illinois\u2019 Kasparas Jaku\u010dionis<\/a> or Arizona\u2019s Carter Bryant, who could offer more options and versatility on the wing.<\/p>\n Could a trade shake things up? Absolutely. The Bulls might not have the assets<\/a> to work their way into some of the blockbuster deals this summer, but their overstuffed backcourt has plenty of tradable options \u2014 Lonzo Ball, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu \u2014 who could be either packaged with the No. 12 pick or utilized to move up in the draft order.<\/p>\n The Bulls kicked up a little chatter earlier in the summer as a potential suitor for Jonathan Kuminga, whom the Golden State Warriors are looking to trade before next season. Any such deal likely would require the No. 12 pick to be attached. There are questions about the viability of trading for the 22-year-old forward, but it wouldn\u2019t be the first time the Bulls traded away a valuable asset (see: Alex Caruso\u2019s second NBA championship<\/a>) to pick up a young player who floundered<\/a> out of a team\u2019s rotation during the playoffs.<\/p>\n Another trade possibility is trying to move up in the draft. No. 12 is a decent selection, but the Bulls would prefer to be in the top 10 to potentially get their pick of the frontcourt options.<\/p>\n What does this draft mean for the Bulls in the big picture?<\/p>\n On paper, this is an incredibly important draft for the Bulls, who have been navigating a crossroads in slow motion for the better part of a year. After trading Zach LaVine, the front office finally acknowledged the necessity of reinvesting in and rebuilding through youth. And that starts with valuing the talent they can acquire in the draft.<\/p>\n Despite fumbling one prior draft selection \u2014 using the No. 4 pick on Patrick Williams in 2020 \u2014 the Bulls front office under Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas has been consistent in selecting young talent such as Dosunmu and Matas Buzelis. Picking at No. 12 means the Bulls are likelier to land a role player than a future superstar, but that doesn\u2019t make this selection carry any less weight.<\/p>\n A good draft pick doesn\u2019t guarantee anything. The front office has a lot of maneuvering ahead before the Bulls can return to relevance in the Eastern Conference. But it\u2019s the first step toward beginning a serious reshaping of the roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After two months of watching the NBA playoffs from the sidelines, the Chicago Bulls finally will be back…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[11430,11433,960,3127,11431,5386,1818,11434,11432,2497,2629,11435],"class_list":["post-10559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-arturas-karnisovas","tag-carter-bryant","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-derik-queen","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-kasparas-jakucionis","tag-khaman-maluach","tag-nba-draft","tag-nikola-vucevic"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114738022507639756","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Duke's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/California_Duke_Basketball_26972.jpg\")
Duke’s Khaman Maluach (9) and Cooper Flagg high-five after a play against California on Feb. 12, 2025, in Durham, N.C. (AP Photo\/Ben McKeown)<\/p>\n
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Warriors_Timberwolves_Basketball_84704_9e90e9-1.jpg\")
The Warriors’ Draymond Green, left, and Jonathan Kuminga react to a foul call during Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Timberwolves on May 10, 2025, in San Francisco. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)<\/p>\n