Chicago Bulls 2020 NBA Draft: 3 reasons not to trade up

1. Billy Donovan deserves to see what he has

One of the more recent tidbits coming out about the Bulls is the fact that Lauri Markkanen is “more untouchable” than Wendell Carter Jr. in terms of trade talks. What that means is, Billy Donovan loves the skill set and potential Markkanen offers. It’s not necessarily an indictment on Carter, but more so letting Bulls fans know he sees what Jim Boylen could not.

Markkanen’s career took a turn for the worse when Boylen began giving him more direction. Boylen also couldn’t see what everyone else saw in Coby White until it was too late and the season was put on hold shortly after White’s first start.

Boylen nearly destroyed Markkanen, essentially telling him to stop doing what had given him momentum in his development. Donovan is the polar opposite of Boylen in that respect. He will do what he can to help Markkanen and the rest of the guys not only use their strengths, but continuously improve them, too.

If the Bulls moved up, they may have to trade one of their core pieces, and that simply isn’t fair to Donovan. If they moved Carter, Markkanen, Coby White or Zach LaVine, it could hurt this team’s potential in the long run — especially because we have no clue what the future career of Ball looks like.

Last year, the Thunder had somewhere along the lines of a two percent chance to make the postseason at one point, and Donovan coached them into the playoffs in impressive fashion. The Bulls aren’t necessarily a sure fire playoff contender, but Donovan absolutely deserves the chance to coach this current roster and see what he has in Year 1.