The Chicago Bulls fought valiantly last season en route to a Play-In Tournament appearance. By the time the dust settled, the Bulls' front office and Coach Billy Donovan knew the truth: Chicago simply wasn't up to snuff among possible contenders in the Eastern Conference.
With the Chicago Bulls set to pick 11th in the 2024 NBA Draft, it's time to reveal our bold last-minute predictions for Wednesday's main event at the Barclays Center in New York City.
The Bulls decided to shake things up with the trade of defensive stopper and fan favorite Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City for point guard Josh Giddey, a great distributor and team player who could help improve the Bulls' offense.
Meanwhile, the status of Zach LaVine was discussed. Caruso revealed a hilarious message he received from the Thunder's head coach.
With so much news swirling around the Bulls, draft talk has been put on the back burner in recent weeks.
The Bulls have the number 11 pick in Wednesday's 2024 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
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Here are three last-minute predictions for Chicago:
1. The Bulls Will Strongly Consider Zach Edey-
Chicago already has Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond at the center position which makes the Windy City a perfect landing spot for the Purdue Boilermakers NCAA player of the year award winner (Naismith). Both guys could mentor Edey on the finer points of NBA offense and defense which could speed up his development and help him excel. Edey is a high-risk, high reward pick the Bulls may consider if they decide to trade down in tonight's Draft.
The bold NBA last-minute NBA Draft prediction here is that the Bulls will strongly consider keeping Edey in Big Ten country and selecting him to pair with Drummond and Vucevic but will decide against it at the last minute. Don't rule out a possible scenario in which the Bulls target Edey or Nikola Topic of Serbia and trade down to net either one of them.
2. The Bulls Will Strongly Consider Nikola Topic-
The 18-year-old Serbian guard brings size to the position at 6-foot-6 and plenty of potential with his smooth all-around game. He also would pair well with Giddey and Coby White in a possible three-guard rotation.
Topic is worthy of Donovan and the Bulls' consideration with the 11th pick in the draft but the prediction here is that the Bulls will go for an athletic G-League swingman instead who may conjure up memories of the Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan on the defensive end of the court.
3. The Bulls Will Select G-League Ignite Star Ron Holland-
Holland is the latest in a growing line of G-League forwards who play above the rim, joining Ausar and Amen Thompson from last year's draft.
Holland has the type of bulldog mentality the Bulls and coach Donovan seek, reminding many of Cory Brewer from Holland's Florida Gators NCAA championship squads.
At 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, he has the same build as Brewer and averaged 2.5 steals in the G-League last season along with nearly 20 points per game. In the end, the Bulls will decide Holland is the right fit for their program which Donovan is attempting to build in his image. The defense-first mentality of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan can be seen in the way Holland plays the game and even challenges fellow players like his teammate Mata Buzelis, himself a likely first round NBA Draft pick.
Bulls fans won't be enamored with the pick at first but Holland will prove himself to be a great future piece for the Bulls by flashing his potential this upcoming fall NBA basketball season, perhaps buying Donovan more time to construct his ultimate Chicago Bulls roster.
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