The NBA Playoffs are officially over. Now, it’s time to get into the offseason. Thursday, on July 29th, the NBA Draft will take place. As of right now the Bulls pick at 38. They only have their second round pick, as they traded the now 8th overall pick which belongs to the Magic in the Nikola Vucevic trade. The Bulls really need to improve this offseason, and while they can do that in free agency as well, let’s see some of the options they have to make their team better in the draft.

Miles McBride: 6’2” 200 lbs. Point Guard from West Virginia

Miles (Deuce) McBride is an undersized but physically strong guard who took a big leap his sophomore season. He’s coming off a season averaging 15.8 points, nearly 5 assists, and shooting 43% from the field and 40% from three. He’s a great scorer but doesn’t need to be the first or second option to contribute, because he’s a good on-ball defender who can pickpocket (shown by his 1.9 steals a game); additionally, due to his sturdiness and 6-8 wingspan he can cover stronger 1 and 2 guards without being backed down or blown past. 

So how can the Bulls get him? Well, McBride is projected to be a late first round talent so the Bulls will have to trade up for him. It should be worth the trade up because McBride is the facilitator and defensive guy the Bulls have been looking for on their offense. The Clippers pick at 25 in the first round, so the Bulls can trade point guard Tomas Satoransky, who the Clippers are rumored to be interested in, and pick 38 to acquire that first rounder. The Bulls have worked out McBride, so don’t be surprised if you see a trade up this coming Thursday.

Ayo Dosunmu: 6’4” 200 lbs. Combo Guard from Illinois

A plethora of Bulls fans have been very fond of junior player Ayo Dosunmu. Not just because he’s from Chicago and played at Illinois, but his game is hard not to admire. He’s a great scorer who can take over the game when he needs to. His explosiveness, composure in transition, quick first step, and astounding finishing ability are a few things that elevate him to having one of the best offensive games in the class. He’s also a solid defender who has the lateral quickness to stay in front of good ball handlers. Many say his NBA comp is Jrue Holiday. Ayo’s jumpshot is something for him to fix but he has time to work on it and his release is fast so his shooting is fine for now. 

Ayo is another player the Bulls would most likely have to trade up to acquire. The Nuggets or Lakers are most likely to pick him. They could package Tomas Satoransky or Thaddeus Young for one of those picks or use future picks. He isn’t as much of a fit as McBride is; even so, he’s not one of those talents you can pass up easily.

Josh Primo– 6’6” 190 lbs. Combo Guard from Alabama

Josh Primo is one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class at 18 years old. While his game has not flourished completely he has upside on both sides of the ball. He can catch and shoot from any range beyond the arc and is already ready to receive the ball and get into shooting motion. In a high tempo offense with another scoring guard (like Zach Lavine) he can thrive best. At 6’6” he can use his length as an advantage on offense and defense. What he lacks in athleticism he makes up in creativity. 

Primo is projected to go from late first to mid second round. It may not be worth the trade up, but if he’s there at 38 the Bulls should definitely consider taking him. He may be the 3 & D guy they need. 

Greg Brown- 6’9” 205 lbs. Forward from Texas

If you’re looking for an explosive and athletic player, then Greg Brown is your guy. His rim protection, finishing in the paint and rebounding skills are undeniable; in addition he is very young at 19 years old so he can grow with Patrick Williams. With a versatile dunk package, a vertical of 44 inches and a developing jumpshot, the sky’s the limit. His post game isn’t the best but if he is placed at the 3, which he most likely will be, and plays the game at a slow pace, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. 

Greg Brown is projected to go early second so the Bulls may have the chance to pick him. Brown is not really the 3 & D player the Bulls are looking for; he’s more of an upside or a potential type player but still it would be a great move in the long run. 

Rokas Jokubaitis- 6’5” 195 lbs. Point Guard from Lithuania 

Artūras Karnišovas is known for drafting Euro League players. He drafted this year’s MVP Nikola Jokić, and selected Marko Simonović in last year’s draft. With that being said, don’t be surprised if he pulls the trigger on Lithuanian player Rokas Jokubaitis. This past season Jokubaitis played for Zalgiris, a Lituanian professional basketball team, averaging 7.3 points per game, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists shooting 46% from the field and 35% from three. That may not look like much, but he wasn’t the primary ball handler and he didn’t shoot bad percentage shots at high volume. 

Jokubaitis could be a catch and shoot guy if he really needed to score, but his IQ and passing game is one part of his game that stands out. His decision making and feel for the game is good, and he’s always moving off the ball to get into a better position. His versatility is nothing special but the playmaking is one thing the Bulls need at the guard position. Another thing they need is defense, and he looked in sync on that side of the court. He does get beaten and blown past by a lot though, so he needs to learn how to stay in front better. 

Jokubaitis recently signed with Barcelona so if the Bulls picked him he would most likely play with Barcelona his first year, being a draft and stash guy unless the Bulls wanted him immediately. If they wanted to do that they would have to add cash considerations, therefore it is highly unlikely. He should be there at 38 though, and you can’t rule out every option.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. 6’9” 230 lbs. Power Forward from Villanova

The Bulls need some defense on their team, so Jeremiah Robinson-Earl could definitely be of use to them. He can guard the 1-4 positions, play help defense, and has an instant impact on the boards. His good technique is noticeable, especially when closing out. His offense game is a work in progress but still very solid. He can play make and find the open man without having to do extra, and he finishes nice at the rim. 

Robinson-Earl is projected to go in the second round and almost undoubtedly should be there at 38, though anything can happen in the second round. If he develops an outside shot and rim protection skills he could be a good fit for depth at the 4 for the Bulls. 

Quentin Grimes– 6’5, 205 lbs. Wing from Houston. 

If you looked up the definition of a 3 and D player, Quentin Grimes‘ name would pop up. Not really, but he’s one of the closest to that type of player as you can get in this draft class. In his junior season, he averaged 17.8 points, shooting 41% from the field and 40% from three, 5.7 rebounds and 2 assists. His release is quick, and when he finds a rhythm he can get going. Also his on ball defense looked great, using his length and lateral quickness to allow him to stay in front and block shots. His rebounding is another add on to his game that makes him a perfect fit in Chicago. If you want a comparison, he would be Mikal Bridges with a better jumpshot or Klay Thompson LITE. Grimes’ draft stock has been rising these past few weeks, so him being there early second might be a stretch, but there is no way you pass up a guy like this at 38. 

Jason Preston- 6’4” 181 lbs. Guard from Ohio. 

Jason Preston is another person that has been rising up draft boards recently, due to his combine performance. He has intangibles and some really good playmaking and IQ. You can back that up by his average of 7.2 assists per game in his junior year. He uses his craftiness and size to score on the inside, and has the upside to become a Lamelo Ball level passer. His defense looks solid on film, especially in the game against Illinois in the regular season and Virginia in the NCAA tournament He doesn’t have a lot of athleticism or the first step that most guards have and his jumpshot is something to work on but he still wouldn’t be a bad selection at 38.

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After losing 4-2 to the Boston Celtics in the 2016-17 NBA playoffs, John Paxson, the general manager of the Chicago Bulls at that time, was not satisfied with how far the Bulls had come. He ended up making the decision to rebuild, trading Jimmy Butler and the 16th overall pick in the upcoming draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, and the 7th overall pick. In the 2017 NBA Draft, the Bulls selected Lauri Markkanen with the 7th pick that they acquired from their trade with the Timberwolves. 

The Fiery Start for the Markksman

The years Lauri Markkanen played for the Bulls so far were very rocky. He is averaging 15.6 points a game with 44/37/84 shooting splits, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in his career. He was very solid his rookie year, averaging 15.2 points a game and making the all-rookie first team along with Kyle Kuzma and future stars Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, and Donovan Mitchell. Many Bulls and NBA fans became excited with this great season performance by Lauri, dubbing him “The Marksman” along with other names after surpassing Damian Lillard to become the fastest rookie to make 100 career 3-pointers in NBA history. 

snow mamba, the finisher, the kraken, the man the myth the markkanen, the Finnish mamba, the marksman, the king of the north, the nordic mamba, the big Finnish, lauri legend, the snowman…. I could go on

— Rusty Buckets (@RustyBUCKETS321) July 7, 2018

The next season he skyrocket in his play and averaged 18.7 points a game, 9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, with 43/36/87 splits, and having eight total 30-point games. This outstanding performance had NBA fans thinking that Markkanen’s stardom was imminent. But over the next 2 years, especially the 2021 season he was a let down to the Bulls fans who had hyped up his previous seasons. So what happened? 

The Fall Off

The 2019-20 season was truly disappointing for Lauri Markkanen. He battled injuries and illnesses all year, and dropped to 14.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists per game with a career low of 42/34/82 splits. He’d been battling injuries his whole career but it seemed like that year they really got to him. Following this poor performance for the Bulls, having a 22-60 record, Paxson was fired and Artūras Karnišovas took over in the executive position. For the 2020-21 season Lauri started off well averaging 19.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and even had two 30-point games (one against the Trailblazers and one against the Knicks) in the first 23 games of the season. Then he got hit with another injury, a shoulder sprain which caused him to miss a couple weeks. That moment was when people really started questioning his future on the team in the upcoming off-season. 

https://dawindycity.com/2021/02/09/chicago-bulls-lauri-markkanen-injury-helps/

There were many rumors that he was being shopped at the trade deadline, but nothing was done so he stayed on the team for the remainder of the season. He finished this season with a career low 13.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists with 48/40/82 splits. On the surface these splits don’t seem too bad for him, but he was very inconsistent with his shooting. He also took less shots most likely due to losing his confidence causing him to have a better shooting percentage. In addition to that, he didn’t play very good defense, constantly made questionable basketball decisions, and barely played 50 games. For these reasons, he will be graded a C- on the season. Many of these problems might have come from coach Billy Donovan experimenting with Lauri’s role, switching him from power forward to center, small forward and even putting him on the bench, but you can only give Lauri so much lenience. Most Bulls fans don’t see Arturas Karnišovas keeping Markkanen for the 2021-22 season or seasons to come, even though Karnišovas has said nothing but positive things about the player. Which brings up the question… What should the Bulls do with him? 

The 2021 Off-Season

Lauri Markkanen is a restricted free agent. That means every team that offers him a contract the Bulls can match, which allows the Bulls to get value for Markkanen if they don’t want to keep him. One of the Bulls’ biggest needs is a point guard alongside star player Zach Lavine, preferably defensively. Coby White has played and adjusted to his roles well this season, but with the recent trade for former Orlando Magic player Nikola Vučevič, the Bulls seem to be in win now mode and may not wait for Coby White to develop into the player they want him to be. They could possibly do a sign-and-trade and get who they want that way. Sources claim that Lauri Markkanen has said that he would like to join the Dallas Mavericks, where he’d play alongside Kristaps Porzingis and superstar Luka Dončič.

https://twitter.com/ChiSportUpdates/status/1396106397348155392?s=20

The Bulls could try and target Jalen Brunson, who is coming up on his 4th season next year averaging 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and having a defensive rating of 115.6 this season. A fan favorite that Bulls fans want in the upcoming free agency is Lonzo Ball, who is also a restricted free agent. He averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and had a defensive rating of 112.7 with 82 steals on the year. Lauri could be a stretch four that can replace veteran forward James Johnson if he leaves or even replace Steven Adams and join Zion Williams and Brandon Ingram in their starting front court. The Pelicans do need a shooter, but they might not want to give up Ball so easily with the Knicks being another team in high interest of him. Lauri’s future is uncertain, but we will see what happens in the offseason. 

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