Lottery movement can either help or hurt the trajectory of a rebuild, and for the Chicago Bulls, a small jump could dramatically help the direction of the franchise. The Bulls' recent draft picks have been far from great, and with them sitting in the lottery at times but not also not bottoming out to get as good a pick as possible, some of it is their fault.
Currently in a weird spot with the draft as things currently stand, Chicago found itself moving into a better situation in Ricky O’Donnell’s latest make draft, which would create a pathway to land one of the most intriguing two-way prospects in the class. O'Donnell projected that UNC’s Caleb Wilson to the Bulls at No. 4 overall would make sense if it goes this way.
“The Bulls were the other big winner of our lottery simulation, moving up from the No. 10 slot to cash in on a 13.9 percent chance to land a top-4 pick,” O’Donnell wrote. “This is a great draft to land the No. 4 pick in with two of Wilson, Boozer, and Houston point guard Kingston Flemings likely available. Wilson could push Dybantsa out of the No. 3 spot on my personal board soon with his non-stop motor and two-way upside as a 6’10 forward.
“The Tar Heels freshman is a buzzsaw defender who can pick up 94-feet, provide secondary-rim protection, and get into the passing lanes. He doesn’t have a reliable three-point stroke yet, but he’s still an impactful offensive player by dunking everything as a finisher, gaining extra possessions on the glass, hitting tough mid-range shots, and adding value as a passer. Wilson feels more like a star role player than a traditional star, but he’d be a fantastic addition to Chicago’s rebuild and would finally give the fanbase some real hope.”
At North Carolina, the big and lanky freshman has built his reputation on being one of the top players in the country already. Wilson is dealing with an injury to his hand and will be out for the foreseeable future.
"University of North Carolina freshman forward Caleb Wilson is out with a fracture in his left hand, an injury he suffered in the first half of Tuesday's game at Miami. X-rays taken during the game were negative, and he returned to play later in the second half vs. the Hurricanes, but additional imaging done in Chapel Hill revealed the fracture," the school posted.
We all hope that Wilson returns sometime in the near future, but in this scenario, it shouldn’t make too much of a difference to the Bulls. If he’s there, they need to take him and try to build around the youngster.