The basketball gods finally paid the Chicago Bulls a visit, helping them move up in the 2026 NBA Draft lottery to secure the No. 4 pick and, with it, the possibility to land a franchise-changing player for the first time since Derrick Rose.
However, there's a new front office in town, and Bryson Graham has already pumped the brakes on an overnight turnaround. As deep as this draft class is, he preached patience and building the right way over time.
As such, the Bulls might look around the league and adopt a 'quality over quantity' approach. The Oklahoma City Thunder are always looking to make deals, and the Bulls could probably land an entirely new core plus some draft capital in a trade with them.
In this scenario, the Bulls could send picks Nos. 4 and 15, along with Patrick Williams, to the Thunder to acquire Nikola ATopic, Jared McCain, Thomas Sorber, and picks Nos. 12 and 17. As crazy as this may sound, it actually makes sense. Let's dive in.
The Bulls should explore a wild trade with the Thunder
Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson are two potential franchise-caliber guys; there's no way to deny that. Then again, both come with more question marks than AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, and while the Thunder might be more comfortable rolling the dice on either of them, the Bulls could benefit from overhauling their entire core.
The Bulls already have Noa Essengue, who's essentially a first-round rookie, and adding Boozer or Wilson next to him might hurt his development, given that they won't bench Matas Buzelis. Then, there's not that much of a drop-off from No. 5 to No. 15 in this class.
Nikola Topic was the No. 12 pick before a season-ending injury and a bout with cancer got in his way. Thomas Sorber was the No. 15 pick last season before missing his rookie year with an injury, and Jared McCain, the No. 16 pick, looks like an elite three-level scorer in the making.
The Bulls would be giving up better draft positioning and a chance at a franchise player, but they would be flipping one lottery ticket into 3, all while still keeping Josh Giddey, Buzelis, and Essengue, and adding two more draft picks to round out the roster. At that range, they can probably get Cameron Carr, Morez Johnson Jr., or Karim Lopez.
The Thunder, on the other hand, can actually afford to absorb Patrick Williams' terrible contract. Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein will probably leave, so Williams can give them some defense in the wings. Still, they'd obviously be in on this trade because of that valuable No. 4 pick.
There are generational players that no team should even consider passing on. Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson are both very, very good prospects with a high floor and a promising ceiling, but they're not in that LeBron James, Cooper Flagg, Victor Wembanyama category.
The Bulls shouldn't hesitate to hold onto their pick if they had gotten the No. 1 or No. 2 selection, but No. 4 gives them a little more wiggle room. And with a team like the Thunder, which can afford to take chances and has more stars than it can play, this looks like a risky but potentially rewarding scenario for both teams.
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