The Chicago Bulls already have one former NBL star on their roster in Josh Giddey, what if they added another in athletic, sweet-shooting forward Karim Lopez.
The Chicago Bulls want the players they draft to possess size, length, athleticism and physicality. There are destined to get a prospect that fits that profile at 4th overall, but I believe they can grab a SLAP profile prospect at 15th overall, and perhaps one of the best ones available in Mexican forward Karim Lopez.
Lopez--who would become the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the first round--had a great NBA Combine showing. He showcased a 38-inch vertical leap, a smooth jump shot and impressive agility for his size. He is a product of the NBL Rising Stars program, the same program that produced playmaker extraordinaire Josh Giddey.
Lopez averaged a modest 11.9 PPG and 6.1 RPG as an NBL rookie, but the defensive playmaking numbers (1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game) and fact that he averaged slightly more assists (1.9) than turnovers (1.5) turned heads among scouts as positive indicators.
The way Lopez plays basketball reminds me of Giannis Antetokounmpo. He loves to initiate contact on offense and is almost always looking to dunk.
He isn't and very clearly doesn't have the same measurements as the NBA Champion and former MVP, but looks to possess a similar combination of fluidity and aggression that the "Greek Freak" displayed as a raw prospect.
A more likely high-end outcome for Lopez would Orlando Magic star Franz Wagner, a 220 lb.--the same weight as Lopez--forward who uses a surprising combination of ballhandling, streaky shooting and playmaking to consistently keep his team in the postseason mix.
Although I started off comparing his game to Antetokounmpo because of his aggressive driving and finishing, Lopez performed well in the shooting drills at the NBA Combine. He appears to have the jump shot form and handle to turn into a strong pull-up shooter as he develops.
He shot 49% from the field in the NBL, a strong percentage considering he was starting to explore the depths of his game as a floor-spacer (3.0 attempts per game from 3-point range).
I see a lot of what I saw in Matas Buzelis in a prospect in Lopez. He has the size and tools to be an extremely versatile player at the NBA level. Lopez is a bit of a blank slate as a player and the Bulls are a blank slate as a roster, making them an intriguing match.
Lopez is a sub-34% 3-point shooter, but the stroke looks clean and he shows no fear taking them. As long as he continues to be a threat to shoot from deep, he will be tough to deal with as his straight line speed and leaping ability make him a devastating finisher at times.
Defensively, the contact imitating from offense transfers over. He boxes out and finishes possessions with defensive boards, and then has the handle to instantly turn those into high percentage transition scoring opportunities.
The Bulls don't have much in the way of concrete, long-term rotation players on the roster. Possessing an immense amount of salary cap space and having a ton of expiring contracts means the Bulls look very different next season. That means that the idea of passing on a high-ceiling prospect like Lopez because of "fit" simply doesn't make sense.
We know Buzelis will continue to get opportunities to create with the ball in his hands. We know that Leonard Miller will continue to see playing time as a 6-foot-10-inch forward whose rebounding and physicality on defense gave the Bulls an edge they had lacked for much of the season.
Despite Buzelis, Miller, Noa Essengue and Lopez feeling duplicative, I think it would pay off big time for Chicago.
The Bulls do not have a clear option at center, and have lacked dependable rim protection for quite some time.
Rather than looking to solve their rim protection issues by likely overpaying one player, having a roster full of long and aggressive forwards like Buzelis, Miller, Essengue and Lopez could give Chicago enough length and athleticism to have spectacular weakside defense outside of the five spot.
