With 11 picks set to go before the Chicago Bulls even get on the board on draft night, there’s no telling which prospects will be available to them.
That gives them a wide variety of possible outcomes. A lot of mock drafts have Derik Queen going to Chicago. Some others have Collin Murray-Boyles. What if it’s neither of them?
Chicago Bulls land Duke star Khaman Maluach in mock draft
Khaman Maluach is coming off an excellent year at Duke, and the big man could be picked anywhere on draft night. Some big boards have him as a fringe top-five prospect, and others have him in a slightly lower range. If the Chicago Bulls were to land him, it would arguably be the pick of the draft.
That’s exactly what The Ringer’s latest mock draft predicts. The first round to that point took a very interesting route, with Derik Queen, a popular Bulls mock, going to Washington sixth overall. With this pick, the Bulls could have gone with Murray-Boyles, Danny Wolf, Egor Demin, Drake Powell, or Nique Clifford.
Instead, they end the Duke center’s slide. J. Kyle Mann said:
“Maluach sliding this far would bring some desperately needed clarity for the IndiscerniBulls. He’d be the first high-powered, rim-pressuring force that they’ve had since … a young Daniel Gafford? Next to elite lob throwers like Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball, Khaman could just lie back and relax as they shovel food into his mouth like he’s the plant from Little Shop of Horrors.”
He added that Maluach is an “unrefined defensive anchor,” but noted that he’d still vastly improve the halfcourt defense. “He’s the type of massive drop big who forces finishers to leave their feet in indecision several feet higher up the lane than they’d prefer to. Seems like it’d be a no-brainer for the Bulls if he’s available,” he added.
In Danny Chau’s estimation, Maluach is a rare breed of defender. Is he perfect? No, sometimes he gets lost in space, and it looks bad. But he has a motor and defensive instincts like few others at his size. His player comparisons, per Chau, are the person Javale McGee thinks he is, Christian Koloko, and Kel’el Ware.
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