Illinois star Keaton Wagler believes he can play SF one day at the NBA level, would that make him more enticing at No. 4 overall?
The Chicago Bulls need as much talent as they can collect heading into the first year of their rebuild in the Bryson Graham era.
Despite this fact, many Bulls fans find themselves saying that the Bulls need to avoid drafting a guard because of the presence of a bevvy of guards in Josh Giddey, Rob Dillingham and Tre Jones. There are even more guards than that on Chicago's roster, but those are the names likely to be retained with Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons likely on their way to new teams this offseason.
Many evaluators have made up their minds and decided that the Chicago Bulls will select North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. It is certainly possible that the Bulls go chalk, but we have no idea what Bryson Graham's Big Board looks like. That is what brings me to Illinois star Keaton Wagler.
Wagler has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, and the sweet shooting guard recently had some interesting statements about his position at the NBA level. Wagler won the Jerry West Award that goes to the "best shooting guard" in the country.
He averaged 17.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.2 APG and shot 39.7% from the 3-point line on 5.9 attempts per game.
Wagler didn't have the most inspiring draft combine from a measurements standpoint, coming in at 6-foot-5-inches with a 6-foot-6-inch wingspan, and an 8-foot-4 inch standing reach. The measurements are fine as not every player can be an athletic freak, but a +1 wingspan is pretty disappointing in terms of considering Wagler lanky at the next level. An unimpressive wingspan essentially makes him seem shorter than he is, a similar issue the Bulls went through with Coby White.
All of that being said, if Graham feels that Wagler's combination of shooting, handling and playmaking gives him a higher ceiling than Caleb Wilson's mixture of athleticism and aggression on offense, then he should feel no fear making the pick. And if the idea of Wagler being strictly a guard is a concern, then his recent words on Sirius XM should ease those concerns.
Although he is 6-foot-5 and has big guard tendencies, Wagler came in at 188 lbs, a very light frame for the type of aggressive defenders that will crowd his airspace at the next level. However, Wagler feels that as he bulks up, transitioning into a small forward wouldn't be too tall a task for him. He stated that "as I continues to get stronger and put on weight, I can get up to playing the three."
Bulking up would go a long way towards helping Wagler at the NBA level. He isn't a player who relies on straight line speed or jumping ability, so the added weight wouldn't be much of an issue as long as it doesn't have too much of a negative effect on his jumper form.
The Bulls have Matas Buzelis listed at 209 lbs. and Josh Giddey listed at 216 lbs. The current measurements of Wagler put him closer to 6-foot-2-inch, 175 lb. guard Rob Dillingham in terms of weight. Regardless of if they were to take him at 4th overall or acquire him through a draft day trade, Wagler adding weight to play more on the wing would be a necessity in Chicago.
Giddey--a player with similar dimensions--has shown that he can play SF next to smaller guards. Bringing Wagler into Chicago's development program and letting him adjust to the wing next to Giddey and Buzelis would give Chicago three 6-foot-5 and taller players to build around, all who are capable of running the show or playing off the ball.
