The Chicago Bulls missed out on the playoffs, falling in their home play-in outing against the Miami Heat. Now, their attention must turn to the lottery after once again missing the postseason and finishing with a lackluster record. The lottery gives them a slim chance to move up inside the top 10, and right now, if it all went chalk, they’d pick 12th overall. Here’s who CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno has going there in his latest prediction.
Latest mock draft gets Liam McNeeley in a Bulls uniform
12th is not an ideal spot for a team searching for a true star in the draft to help push their youth movement forward. The Bulls have to decide on Coby White and Josh Giddey’s future. Matas Buzelis might’ve been the steal of the draft in 2024, but they have to pair him with someone else good and young from this draft.
Cameron Salerno believes that it should be UConn freshman Liam McNeeley. McNeely averaged 14.5 points, six rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Huskies in his one year in college. He’s the 11th-ranked prospect, so the Bulls do get a slight boost from that, and the third-ranked forward.
“When McNeeley missed time due to injury midway through UConn’s season, the Huskies were a different team. McNeeley is a plug-and-play forward at the next level, thanks to his ability to thrive within the flow of an offense and his experience playing alongside other future lottery picks,” Salerno said. “In high school at Montverde Academy, McNeeley played with top prospects like Cooper Flagg, Asa Newell, Derik Queen, and current BYU guard Robert Wright III.”
At 6’7″, he’d be a solid addition to the roster alongside Buzelis. Buzelis is 6’10”, allowing him to play power forward with McNeeley taking the small forward spot. Salerno believes that McNeeley is a player designed to be used in a variety of ways at the NBA level and someone the Bulls can insert into their lineup sooner rather than later.
This does have the Bulls missing out on Jeremiah Fears, Khaman Maluach, and other lottery picks, but they chose, in Salerno’s mock, McNeeley over Asa Newell, Egor Demin, and Johni Broome.
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