3 dark horse options for the Chicago Bulls in 2022 NBA Draft

Big man Walker Kessler is a dark horse draft candidate for the Chicago Bulls

Maybe the most pressing need on this Bulls roster is in the front court. The team is entering an offseason where they will officially have no depth behind starting center Nikola Vucevic. Both Tony Bradley and Tristan Thompson are free agents, and the Bulls have showed little faith in former second-round pick Marko Simonovic.

Currently listed as the no. 26 overall prospect by ESPN, but could absolutely be in play at no. 18 for the Bulls. After all, the 7-foot-1 center was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Auburn’s big man averaged a whopping 4.6 blocks last season — an astronomical number. The Bulls could immediately use Kessler’s defense off the bench, as both Bradley and Thompson were pushovers that lacked intensity on that side.

Kessler is more of a traditional center without much of an outside shooting game, but the fact that he can be a physical, rebounding presence in the paint for the Bulls is going to help defensively. The Bulls were a great fast-break team last year, but struggled in giving up offensive rebounds and disallowing that fast break to take center stage.

If anything, Kessler’s rebounding and defense would translate into a phenomenal backup big man for Chicago next season.