I would like to start by stating that I am extremely upset that the Bulls not only dropped from 6th in the lottery odds to actually getting the 7th pick, but that the Sacramento Kings moved up from 7th in the lottery odds to winning the 2nd pick in the draft.

It should have been the Bulls.

Chicago is one of the top three NBA markets along with New York and LA, it’s simply good business to rig the lottery in their favor.

Dropping to the 7th pick is especially upsetting given how much the 1st rounder from the Pelicans fell after they decided to go and win all those games and leave the Bulls with just the 22nd pick.

However, now that there is a cemented draft standing for the Chicago Bulls, it is time to get serious and be realistic about the now cemented draft standings for the Bulls at the 7th pick.

With my hopes of moving up in the lottery to get Luka Doncic or Jaren Jackson Jr. now gone because those guys are certainly not dropping below the fourth pick, we must recalculate again to the prospects likely to be around by the time the Bulls pick.

First things first, I want to eliminate a few prospects that I think will for sure be gone before the Bulls pick. I can’t see Ayton or Doncic slipping past the third pick so the Bulls can forget about them. Jackson Jr. and Bagley seem to be consensus top five prospects so they will more than likely be gone as well. The two biggest names that could potentially drop to seven are Trae Young or Michael Porter Jr. I have a lot of questions about these two but their potential upside might outweigh the risk of drafting either. Also, I could see either one of Porter or Young sneaking into the top five. Young also seems like a very Orlando Magic draft choice, who will be selecting 6th, one spot ahead of the Bulls.

I have been very clear in my previous article about my support for a pick of Mikal Bridges and Mo Bamba, who might be considered safer choices than Porter or Young. This is largely due to my belief that Bridges and Bamba will be more ready to contribute from the start, while still have solid potential while Porter and Young might be less NBA ready and their potential is less certain.

I am very conflicted about how I want the Bulls to approach the 2018 draft.

On one hand, I know this might be the last chance the team has at a high draft pick for the foreseeable future and should, therefore, go for a guy with the highest potential even if he has more questions and weaknesses surrounding his game versus a guy whose potential might not be as high but you know what you will get from him. In this scenario, Trae Young would be the example of the prospect with a possibly higher potential with lots of uncertainty surrounding him. Mikal Bridges would be the guy you can just plug into any team and you’ll know what to expect from him but he might have a lower ceiling.

I will say the biggest consolation for Bulls fans heading into the draft is that last season they ended up with the 7th pick and took Lauri Markkanen. At the time, I did not like the pick but Markkanen turned out to be one of the best performing and most promising rookies this season. I don’t have much faith in the front office but with some pretty solid talent likely to go in the first 10 picks, the Bulls should be able to snag a promising player with their 7th pick.