(670 The Score) We can now put an official number on the Bulls’ chances to land French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
Chicago has a 1.8% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft after it won a tiebreaker drawing with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday afternoon, the league announced. The draft lottery to decide the order will be held on May 16. Had the Bulls lost the tiebreaker drawing, they would’ve had a 1.7% chance to land the No. 1 pick.
The Bulls owe their first-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Magic as part of their payment for acquiring center Nikola Vucevic from Orlando in 2021. That pick is top-four protected. The Bulls winning the tiebreaker drawing means they’ll have an 8.5% chance to retain their first-round selection by jumping up into the top four.
The 19-year-old Wembanyama, a 7-foot-2 sensation with the size of a big man and the shooting and ball-handling skills of a guard, is the consensus No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, which will be held June 22. He currently plays for the Metropolitans 92 in the top league in France.
Even if the Bulls send their own pick to the Magic, there’s a chance they'll hold a first-round pick on June 22. The Blazers owe the Bulls a lottery-protected first-round pick. That didn’t convey in this cycle because Portland finished with the fifth-worst record in the NBA, but the Blazers are encumbered on the trade market for as long as they owe the Bulls that pick into the future. It’s possible the Blazers could work out a deal with the Bulls to send a different first-round pick they own – No. 23 overall from the New York Knicks – to Chicago to open up more flexibility to send future picks to another team in a deal to help build around star guard Damian Lillard in Portland. Blazers general manager Joe Cronin previously acknowledged that he talks to the Bulls in every transaction window about the pick that Portland owes Chicago.
The Bulls don’t currently own a second-round pick in this NBA Draft. They've conveyed the No. 42 overall pick to the Wizards, and the late second-round pick that the Bulls held (which was originally the Nuggets’ but was acquired from the Cavaliers) will be forfeited as Chicago’s penalty for tampering in its acquisition of guard Lonzo Ball in 2021.
Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
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