Chicago Bulls Draft North Carolina's Caleb Wilson with No. 4 Pick

The next era of Chicago Bulls basketball is officially underway.

New executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham made his first draft pick on Tuesday night, selecting North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson with the No. 4 overall choice. Wilson will headline the franchise's much-needed rebuild.

Chicago finished with a 31-51 record last season and climbed from ninth to fourth in the NBA Draft Lottery. The Bulls made Wilson the No. 4 overall pick after AJ Dybantsa (Washington Wizards, No. 1 overall), Darryn Peterson (Utah Jazz, No. 2) and Cameron Boozer (Memphis Grizzlies, No. 3).

The Bulls are embracing a youth movement, which appears to be centered around Wilson. In addition to the North Carolina freshman, who turns 20 years old on July 18, Chicago projects to be led by 21-year-old forward Matas Buzelis, 23-year-old guard Josh Giddey, 19-year-old wing Noa Essengue, 21-year-old guard Rob Dillingham and 22-year-old wing Leonard Miller.

Thanks to the 2021 Lauri Marrkanen trade, the Bulls also have the No. 15 overall pick in this year's draft. In Wednesday night's second round, Chicago possesses the Nos. 38 and 56 overall selections.

Wilson has both the talent and the production to warrant the pick. In his lone season at North Carolina, the Atlanta native averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 57.8% overall and 25.9% from three. Wilson started 24 games before getting shut down with a season-ending thumb injury.

The 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward was a Second Team All-American and a member of the All-ACC First Team.

Wilson has garnered comparisons to Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett and Miami Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The former Tar Heel is a two-way player who brings defensive ferocity to the court, as well as a rare level of athleticism.

Most importantly, Wilson is a perfect fit for Graham's S.L.A.P. principle. He has size, length, athleticism and physicality to his game and will undoubtedly be a key cog in new head coach Tiago Splitter's scheme.

If Wilson spends most of his time as a true '4,' it'll allow Buzelis to play more on the wing next season when the two are together. The Bulls' first-round draft pick from 2024 excelled when playing alongside a pair of bigs a year ago. A Buzelis-Wilson-Nic Claxton frontcourt would give Chicago three starters between 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11.