NBA Draft 2020: 4 prospects the Bulls could target in trades
Wing help? A star guard? The Bulls have a lot of options at their disposal come draft night.
The NBA Draft is Wednesday.
And nobody has any idea what the Bulls will do.
They could trade up. They could trade down. They could use their No. 4 and 44 overall picks and call it a night.
Speculation reigns.
We wanted in on some of that fun. So we came up with four first-round trade targets -- one in which the Bulls move up, the rest of which involve a move down -- for Artūras Karnišovas, Marc Eversley and company to pursue.
Obviously, it takes two teams to tango. And this draft is a tough one to peg given its lack of starpower, the unprecedented coronavirus-affected predraft process and the staggering number of different valuations of players.
But here’s a nugget -- pun intended -- on which to chew: In five of the six drafts Karnišovas worked in Denver with Tim Connelly, the Denver Nuggets’ president of basketball operations, that franchise made a trade.
Will Karnišovas make it 1-for-1 for his Bulls tenure?
The bell of the 2020 draft ball, LaMelo could always fall to the Bulls at No. 4. But if Karnišovas covets his genius-level passing, exceptional positional size and untapped scoring potential, a move up to snare him may not be out of the question.
He’d certainly be an exciting long-term backcourt partner with either, or both of, Coby White and Zach LaVine. And with the owners of the first two picks actively shopping their selections -- one of many markers of just how wonky this draft could be -- he’s attainable.
The cost, though, would be steep, even in a class that’s top-tier talents all seem to harbor major downside. Certainly, the No. 4 pick and a piece of the Bulls’ young core -- Lauri Markkanen or Wendell Carter Jr. spring to mind -- would figure to be required. While it would be a cold and bold beginning Karnišovas’ tenure as lead decision-maker, if Ball’s superstar potential pans out, the fanbase should be quick to forgive. --- Rob Schaefer
The Bulls flew to Miami to work out and dine with the speedy Alabama point guard, one of 10 visits allotted to teams by the league in this unprecedented predraft process.
Of course, if the Bulls are fully sold on Lewis, they could just draft him at No. 4. But with him landing lower on most mock drafts, it might be worth exploring opportunities to pick up another asset from a team dead set on landing a player who is available at No. 4, but might not be there later.
Coincidentally, Lewis has drawn some comparisons to Coby White because of his speed and ability to attack in transition. He’s not as accomplished a scorer as White. But his assists average jumped to 5.2 per game in his sophomore season, and he could be part of an athletic backcourt of the future alongside White and Zach LaVine. --- K.C. Johnson
In addition to playmaking, the Bulls have a glaring need on the wing, where the team has often been understaffed in recent seasons due to injuries to Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison. Karnišovas won’t draft for need. But Vassell and Williams, who once were teammates, both offer worthy upside, and, similar to Lewis, would be intriguing targets in a trade-down move that also netted the Bulls future assets.
Vassell enters the draft a polished, all-encompassing defender; he’s long (reported 6-foot-10 wingspan), mobile and has a knack for racking up steals, blocks and transition buckets. He’s also a proven 3-point shooter, having hit 41.5 percent of his 3s for Florida State last season. You'd have hard time constructing a more textbook 3-and-D wing in a laboratory. He’s projected in most mocks to go somewhere in the mid-to-late lottery.
Williams, meanwhile, is a bit more of a project. But, as the youngest collegiate player in the class (he turned 19 in August), his potential is key. Built, athletic and with a reported 7-feet wingspan, he could blossom into a valuable multi-positional defender. At the offensive end, he crashes the glass hard and even flashed some playmaking chops in his freshman year. There's room to grow in his outside shot (32 percent from deep at FSU), but he oozes energy. Now, his stock is skyrocketing, as evidenced by a recent report from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony that listed his range as Nos. 4-9. --- Rob Schaefer
