Bulls Are Bound to Have Bad Luck Come Lottery Time
Despite what a certain faction of Bulls Nation might be telling you, Anthony Davis is not coming home to Chicago. It would be out of character for the Bulls to even attempt it, and history shows it won’t happen. Sure, they tried to woo LeBron James and 2014 Carmelo Anthony, but how did that work out? And if they somehow caught us by surprise and pursued him, all indications are Davis doesn’t want anything to do with the Bulls.
So we go back to the original plan of securing a high draft pick. The target is Duke star Zion Williamson. While his teammate, R.J. Barrett, and Murray State’s Ja Morant could change some minds in the near future, Williamson remains the name being thrown around the most. And Bulls fans are desperate for their team to do whatever it takes to land him, namely tank.
The ever-growing number of Bulls fans putting more value in losses were mollified Tuesday with a 122–117 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. They also were satisfied with a few Bulls who had monster games. Zach LaVine scored 26 points, Lauri Markkanen had a double-double of 18 points and 19 rebounds, and even Jabari Parker increased his trade value with 22 points, his first 20-point game since Fred Hoiberg’s final game as coach: a 121–105 loss to the Houston Rockets on Dec. 1. And with no double-digit lead held by either team, the Bulls did just about everything the tanking crowd could have asked for.
But before you start lining up outside Dick’s Sporting Goods for your Williamson Bulls jersey, remember that at 11–40, the Bulls only have the fourth-worst record in the NBA. If the lottery order held true to form, they likely would have to settle for Cam Reddish or someone else not mentioned above. Looking deeper, they could pick as low as eighth in their current position. That’s not where a team in the Bulls’ position would like to find itself.
Folks, I am here to tell you that given their luck in everything since Derrick Rose tore his ACL, the Bulls are going to end up with the lowest pick they can get. Take away the fact that the lottery odds have been revamped starting this year. I would even discount the possibility that the Bulls are going to go on a tear as we get closer to the end of the season. No matter what happens, I’m certain the Bulls will be cursed to settle for another role player when all is said and done.
Think about it. Last year, we were giddy about the Bulls winning a coin flip with the Sacramento Kings regarding draft position. Then, the Bulls slipped one more spot in the draft, and the Kings were able to pick second in a deep draft and get Marvin Bagley III. While the Bulls did well to pick Wendell Carter Jr. at seventh, no one saw him as a franchise-changing player. Even without his likely season-ending injury, people still would have thought of him as a player you build with, not around.
And how about the way the Bulls have conducted their business? Gar Forman and John Paxson are blameless in each of the many wrongdoings the organization has committed under their watch because they made it that way. Jim Boylen nearly caused a player mutiny in his first week as head coach and continues to have his players moving in the opposite direction of how the rest of the NBA plays basketball. Does anyone really think the fates are right to reward an organization with a Williamson, Barrett or Morant?
Wherever the Bulls pick (despite my firm belief in an absolute worst-case scenario), it’s not going to be at the top. And when that happens, we’ll get piece after piece from numerous blogs and media outlets about how the Bulls screwed it up because they won too many games. Then, they’ll draft a player who, while solid, won’t significantly change their fortunes for the better. Another bad season will follow, and the cycle will repeat endlessly.
Believe me, I’d love to watch Zion tear it up for the Bulls throughout the 2020s as much as anybody. But how can anyone tell me with a straight face that everything both in and out of their control will align to the point where it all suddenly goes right? That’s not what the Bulls deserve, and that’s not what’s going to happen. Still, maybe Anthony Davis will get to play his hometown in 10 years, and all will be well again.
