Getty Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen
The Chicago Bulls are primed to add another talented young piece to their intriguing core. And after Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery, we know where they’ll be selecting. Following a tough season in which the Bulls finished with the fourth-worst record in the league (22-60), they’re still one of the top teams to watch in the draft.
Chicago will select No. 7 in the first round of the draft, setting them up to land a top prospect regardless of how the board falls. Although it’s a disappointing outcome, the Bulls still have a bright future, and an early second-round pick also.
After round one, they hold the No. 38 selection in round two, which could give them another opportunity to add a prospect with plenty of upside. Although the Bulls had a tough finish to the year, injuries and other things factored into their poor record, so a bounce-back year is expected.
We’re going to take a look at the Bulls latest mock draft and projections for both of their picks in the NBA draft. We’ll start with the lottery pick.
Bulls First-Round Mock Draft Pick: Rui Hachimura, SF/PF, Gonzaga
The Bulls could opt to go a number of ways with their lottery pick, but selecting Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura is a mixture of safety, paired with the skillset to continue improving at the next level. Hachimura’s collegiate career took off during the 2018-19 season and he’s progressively gotten better over the three-year stretch.
During his first season with the Bulldogs, Hachimura played just 4.6 minutes per game, averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds. But in year two, he averaged 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds over 20.7 minutes. Then came the big stride forward, as Hachimura played more than 30.0 minutes per game and averaged 19.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
The 6-foot-8 forward was exceptionally consistent shooting the ball last year, knocking down 59.1 percent from the field. Although Hachimura only attempted 36 shots from 3-point range in 2018-19, it was 10 more than any other season, and he knocked down 41.7 percent.
Bulls Second-Round Mock Draft Pick: Dylan Windler, SG/SF, Belmont
Dylan Windler was one of the most intriguing prospects in college basketball over his final two seasons, yet he flew under the radar a bit. The four-year college player out of Belmont took a huge step forward from year two to year three, averaging 17.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists during the 2017-18 season. In that stretch, he shot 55.9 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from 3-point range.
While Windler’s attempts increased during his final collegiate season, he still managed to connect at a high mark and increase his numbers. During the 2018-19 season, the 6-foot-8 guard/forward averaged 21.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals. Windler’s red-hot shooting continued, as he knocked down 54.0 percent from the field and while he shot 2.2 3-pointers more per game on average, he still made 42.9 percent from deep.
Windler would be a great fit on a Bulls team losing a few guard/forward options such as Wayne Selden, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Shaq Harrison and a number of others.
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