A 6-foot-10 forward is predicted to land in Chicago to play alongside Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey.
With the season in freefall after a fire sale at the trade deadline, many Bulls fans and media members have already begun to turn their focus toward the NBA Draft.
Chicago, fresh off a thrilling overtime victory at Golden State, is currently 27-38 entering Thursday and Friday's back-to-back against the Lakers and Clippers. That gives the Bulls the ninth-best odds to win the lottery among a draft class that many analysts consider historic.
Aside from Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey, the Bulls are desperately in search of young talent, and the upcoming NBA Draft could bring Arturas Karnisovas exactly what he needs. ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo predicted the Bulls would use their top-10 pick to select Tennessee wing Nate Ament in his new mock draft on Wednesday.
Ament, a 19-year-old freshman, has led the Volunteers to a 21-10 record and the No. 25 ranking in the most recent AP Poll.
"[Ament] turned his season around in conference play after a slow start, averaging 19 points in 16 league games and reminding teams why he was so highly rated coming into the season," Woo wrote. "He has at times left evaluators wanting more, but checks valuable size and skill boxes that should make him a long-term NBA fixture. Whether Ament can take a star leap hinges on the evolution of his shot-creation skills."
The 6-foot-10, 207-pound forward was a five-star recruit and the No. 4 overall prospect in the Class of 2025, trailing only the projected top-three draft picks, AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Darryn Peterson (Kansas) and Cameron Boozer (Duke).
Ament started the first 29 games for Tennessee and earned All-SEC Second Team honors. The Manassas, Va., product averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as the Vols placed fifth in the SEC with an 11-7 conference record.
However, Ament suffered a right leg injury on Feb. 28 that kept him out for the final two regular-season games. He returned to the court in Tennessee's first-round SEC Tournament game against Auburn on Thursday.
Feb 28, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Nate Ament (10) is attended to after an injury during the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn ImagesAccording to Woo, the Bulls should be looking to draft the best available player, rather than picking based on positional need. He added that Chicago needs perimeter shooting, but the Bulls would have to find that ability outside of Ament. The Vols' forward has shot just 41.4% from the floor and 32.8% from deep this season.
Chicago has 17 games left in the regular season to improve its draft lottery odds, but six of those games come against the Pacers, Wizards, Mavericks and Grizzlies, all of whom are also vying for better odds.