Do Chicago Bulls need to trade up in 2018 NBA Draft?

After missing out on a top-three pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, must the Chicago Bulls trade up to get the kind of franchise-altering talent they need?

Unfortunately, lightning did not strike twice for the Chicago Bulls at last night’s 2018 NBA Draft Lottery. At least not in the way that they intended.

Instead of going into the June draft with an improbable leap up into the top three, the Bulls actually lost ground in the top 10 of the NBA Draft, following from their previous No. 6 slot to No. 7 overall.

Well, sometimes when you gamble, you lose. The Bulls tanked as best as they could this year, though Nikola Mirotic, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine took turns screwing that up at various points. Nonetheless, they somehow still managed not to fully succeed at being bad enough for a franchise-changing pick.

Imagine that…a team that can’t even suck right.

Anyway, the Bulls now find themselves in a pickle. They could still hope for a top talent to fall to them at No. 7. After all, players slide all the time for various reasons. But more than likely, they’ll be picking someone of the Mikal Bridges/Collin Sexton/Mo Bamba variety. And while they’re good players, that’s not what the Bulls had in mind coming into this.

If they really want to accomplish the goal of getting a franchise-changing talent, the Chicago Bulls probably need to trade up in this draft.

Suggesting that comes with heavy risk, given that it could leave the Bulls with only one pick in this year’s draft if they can’t recoup a second-round pick along the way.

However, if they grab the man they want in the draft, could such a move be worth it anyway?