For the Chicago Bulls, trades and free agency have been the main tools used to construct the current roster. Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic were acquired via trade, while DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, and even guys like Andre Drummond, Jevon Carter, and Torrey Craig were signed in free agency.
The only rotation staples who the Bulls drafted and developed are Patrick Williams and Coby White, and White’s future was being questioned before a late-season surge this past year. While other teams around the league utilize the draft as a method to constantly add waves of young talent to their roster, the Bulls haven’t been able to do that.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times called out the Bulls front office for their recent draft failures.
“Since taking over as the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations, Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have now had four draft classes.
“It’s still a small sample size, but also one that should start producing at a higher level.
“Instead, there’s been a lot of squinting to find consistent high-talent moments, and at times squinting to avoid watching very underwhelming play,” Cowley wrote.
Since 2020, the Bulls have drafted Williams, Marko Simonovic, Dalen Terry, and Julian Phillips.
Williams is becoming a solid player, as previously noted.
Simonovic was just waived after failing to crack the regular-season rotation for the past few years.
Terry just finished a relatively disappointing Summer League stint after many looked at him to show out this year.
And while Phillips is still just a rookie, a lot of guys who were drafted right after him look more NBA-ready. Hunter Tyson, Jordan Walsh, and Mouhamed Gueye were drafted in the three slots after him, and all had better Summer League stints.
The Bulls roster is fine, but it would be a whole lot better if the front office could find more success in the NBA Draft.
