The Bulls were always thinking big.
And after attempts to trade up for Marvin Bagley III and Mo Bamba, they stayed at No. 7 and drafted 6-foot-10-inch Wendell Carter Jr. from Duke.
Carter, who impressed the Bulls throughout the draft process, is the type of big who management envisions will fit in today's NBA and complement Lauri Markkanen. At the NBA draft combine, he talked openly about how his game can expand at the next level after sacrificing for his more heralded Duke teammate Bagley.
Following his workout at the Advocate Center, Carter showed his knowledge of today's game and also talked about learning under Robin Lopez.
"The biggest thing is there's not a lot of traditional big men anymore. There's a lot of switching going on. As you watch these playoffs, these Finals, they're switching almost every ball screen," Carter said. "The ability for a big man to stay in front of a guard and force them to take contested twos, that's very important. And then being able to shoot, stretch the floor, is very important for a big man."
The Bulls held trade talks with both the Hawks, who owned the third pick, and the Grizzlies, who owned the fourth. The Hawks ultimately traded down with the Mavericks, with the Hawks getting Trae Young at No. 5 and a future first-round pick from the Mavericks. Dallas netted Luka Doncic at No. 3.
With the Grizzlies, who drafted Jaren Jackson Jr., the Bulls weren't interested in swallowing the two years and $49 million remaining on Chandler Parsons' contract.
One long shot scenario disappeared by midafternoon when the Kings leaked they were locked into drafting Marvin Bagley III with the second pick. The Bulls privately had hoped the Kings would become enamored with Michael Porter Jr. with that pick, dropping Bagley to a slot from which the Bulls could possibly trade up and acquire Bagley.
Though they respected his talent, the Bulls never seriously considered Porter, who fell out of the top lottery because of concerns over his surgically repaired back, league sources said. The Bulls performed Porter's physical two weeks ago because of his locally-based agency's longstanding relationship with the franchise and had a head start on its less-than-promising, long-term prognosis before sharing it with the rest of the league.
