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We’re just a day away from the draft, and it has been somewhat quiet on the Bulls front. We did get some nuggets from NBC Sports Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill in his piece about the Bulls’ supposed interest in Michael Porter Jr. Goodwill reports via “several league sources” that the Bulls have inquired about moving up to No. 3 or No. 4, presumably to take Porter, while “team sources” refuted this notion. Meanwhile, early Wednesday saw The Tribune’s KC Johnson also suggesting the Bulls are interested in trading up...for Mo Bamba.
Either way, there’s smoke billowing when it comes to the Bulls and Porter. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported last week that Porter likely won’t make it past No. 7, and he has Porter going to the Bulls in his most recent mock draft.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie offered up similar intel, calling the Bulls “a soft landing spot” for the 6-foot-11 forward. Vecenie brought up the relationship between Porter’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, and Jerry Reinsdorf, and we can’t forget that the Bulls conducted Porter’s medical evaluation (Goodwill also noted these ties).
CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish also has the Bulls taking the Mizzou product, who has a rather high opinion of himself:
Michael Porter Jr: compares *himself* to Kevin Durant and Giannis, then says it's an honor to be in the "same conversation" as them.
— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) June 19, 2018
Meanwhile, he's ~actually~ getting compared to Keith Van Horn and Harrison Barnes pic.twitter.com/VZMaDQ6DNz
Porter could very well go before No. 7, though. Multiple outlets have reported the Sacramento Kings’ interest, and USA TODAY Sports’ latest mock even has the Kings pulling the trigger on Porter at No. 2. The Dallas Mavericks also reportedly have interest, and Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo has the Mavs going with Porter at No. 5.
With Porter gone, both of these mocks have the Bulls going with Duke’s Wendell Carter Jr. Carter, while lacking the upside of Porter, is probably the best mix of upside and safeness for the Bulls at No. 7. He has his flaws, too, but he has a versatile skill set and would be a nice fit next to Lauri Markkanen.
Our own Ricky O’Donnell has the Bulls taking Carter over Porter in his mock draft of what he thinks teams should do.
As for No. 22, three of the mocks (SI, USA TODAY Sports, CBS Sports) have the Bulls going with Boise State wing Chandler Hutchison. There are rumblings of a Bulls promise to Hutchison, though Givony is saying the Nets at No. 29 may have actually been that team. Givony has the Bulls taking Euro point guard Elie Okobo, a player I know very little about but who has reportedly blown up during the pre-draft process.
Vecenie has Texas A&M center Robert Williams surprisingly falling to No. 22, which would be a steal, while Ricky has the Bulls going with Cincinnati 3-and-D prospect Jacob Evans.
To recap:
- ESPN: Michael Porter Jr., Elie Okobo
- The Athletic: Michael Porter Jr., Robert Williams
- Sports Illustrated: Wendell Carter Jr., Chandler Hutchison
- USA TODAY Sports: Wendell Carter Jr., Chandler Hutchison
- CBS Sports: Michael Porter Jr., Chandler Hutchison
- Ricky: Wendell Carter Jr., Jacob Evans