Chicago Bulls: 2019 NBA Draft Lottery odds, first round mock
By Ryan Heckman
Where will the Chicago Bulls fall in the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, and which players could they end up landing with that pick?
The 2018-2019 NBA season is officially over for the Chicago Bulls, and boy was it an interesting one. It all began with somewhat of a firestorm. The Bulls fired Fred Hoiberg fairly early in the year, which led to interim coach Jim Boylen taking the reins and running with them.
Boylen stirred up the locker room a bit from the get-go, boasting a much different style than Hoiberg. Eventually, the team showed minor improvement and learned to play winning basketball at times.
Going into next season, it’s all about staying healthy and adding more talent.
Their first opportunity to add more talent will be via the 2019 NBA Draft in June. But first, the Bulls will find out their fate at the NBA Draft Lottery on May 14. At the moment, the Bulls have the fourth-best odds at securing the no. 1 overall pick. Here’s how it breaks down for the Bulls’ odds in the lottery.
No. 1 overall: 12.5 percent chance
Top 3 pick: 36.6 percent chance
Top 5 pick: 55.3 percent chance
Top 10 pick: 100 percent chance
The last thing Bulls fans want to see is the team to fall backwards for the second straight year. Last year, they had the best odds to land at no. 6 overall, yet fell back to the seventh spot. This season, anything less than the fourth overall pick is a definite loss.
With that said, Chicago still has a great shot at a top-3 pick, which could yield a franchise-changing player. Depending on where they land in the lottery, the Bulls will either end up with a home run, or they’ll be settling for less. It’s pretty blatant that the top two or three players in this draft will have strong NBA careers, but beyond them, there aren’t any guarantees.
I’ll take on the challenge of predicting the top six picks, assuming the Bulls have better luck than last year’s seven spot. Let’s look at who the Bulls would end up with, should they pick anywhere in the top six.