Grading both Chicago Bulls picks in the 2020 NBA draft

The Chicago Bulls had the fourth and 44th pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Let’s see how they did as we grade their performance.

The Chicago Bulls were not a good team last year. They had too many injuries to put together a decent season. As a result, they finished with a 22-43 record which was good enough for only 11th. Fortunately, they had tremendous luck in the draft lottery moving up to the fourth pick.

This meant that the first official act of new head coach Billy Donovan was to select a top-four draft pick. He had a number of holes in the Bulls roster to fill as they were last in the NBA in defensive rebounds and 29th in total rebounds.

In fact, they were in the bottom third in the league in 16 of the 22 main raw statistical metrics. The only metric where the Bulls were in the top-10 was in steals per game, where they led the NBA. With so many issues, let’s see how the Bulls went in the draft.

With the fourth pick, the Chicago Bull select Patrick Williams.

Patrick Williams was the second-youngest player in the draft. While this means he has one of the largest upsides, he is not going to fix the Bulls’ issues immediately. He is going to have to work hard, showing why he was thought of as such a high pick.

At 6’8″ and 225 lbs, Williams is a really good size for an NBA wing. Defensively he has the ability to defend the two-guard but his bulk also allows him to guard the opposing power forward. As he continues to develop physically he could even become a small-ball center.

During college, Williams showed that he is developing a good 3-point shot when he is able to get his feet set. On top of that, he is also developing a good mid-range shot off the bounce. He needs to take the ball at the hoop more to draw contact as he shoots the ball at 84 percent from the line.

This pick says that the Bulls are comfortable with their rebuild timeline at the moment. Adding an 18-year-old suggests that they are looking at the 2021-22 season as a good opportunity to make a run at the playoffs. Williams will have plenty of time before then to prove himself and develop.

Grade: B

With the 44th pick, the Chicago Bulls select Marko Simonovic

Standing 6’11” with a 40 percent 3-point percentage, there should have been quite a bit of interest in Marko Simonovic but this was not the case. He actually signaled his intent to withdraw from the draft before changing his mind.

The problem Simonovic has is that he is not strong defensively. Even in his European league, he is struggling with defensive assignments. This is not a good situation for a player coming into the NBA where big men who can’t defend are becoming rare. He is going to stay in Europe for at least next season.

Draft grade: B-

Overall draft grade

The Bulls had the worst position in a three-player draft picking fourth. They did fill a need but Williams is going to need time to develop. This says that the Bulls are in the final stage of their rebuild and are not going to be competing for a top seed for a while.

Overall grade: B