Chicago Bulls: What if they drafted perfectly through the 2010s
By Zane Harris
Perfect Chicago Bulls NBA Drafts: 2017 Draft
The 2016-2017 season saw a lot of roster changes and turnover for the Bulls. They traded Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks.
Along with this, they brought in an aging Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade to come in a “co-lead” the team with Jimmy Butler.
This ended up being a disaster and the locker room was divided into factions of young players and veterans. Despite all of the dysfunction in the locker room, the team finished the season with a 41-41 record.
This allowed them to sneak into the playoffs and clinch the eighth seed. However, they were bounced by the Boston Celtics in the first round in six games. This season also saw the Bulls become a top-tier defensive team once again.
Their defensive rating was sixth while their offensive still hung around the bottom half of the league in 20th.
John Collins
Originally, the Bulls were a part of a draft-night trade that headlined around sending Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves and the Bulls getting back Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen.
However, in this hypothetical, Butler is still happy with the roster around him, there was never a need to bring in Rondo and Wade, and the organization is still functional.
As a result of this, there is no need to make any trades and the Bulls will use their pick to select John Collins.
Collins would be another player that can raise the level of the offense and looks to be a future star in the league. He will by no means be the first option on this Bulls’ roster, however, he will be able to contribute on both ends of the floor at a higher level than Markkanen has at this point of his career.
Thomas Bryant
The Bulls originally used this pick to select Jordan Bell who was then traded to the Golden State Warriors. Once again, the Bulls will not be trading this pick and they will select Thomas Bryant.
Noah was another member of the Rose to New York trade, leaving a hole at the center position.
Bryant would be a great option to come off of the bench and learn from Nurkic.