2026 NBA Draft Lottery Preview: Chicago Bulls

Nathan Grubel and Maxwell Baumbach highlight the possibility of Caleb Wilson ending up with the Chicago Bulls at #4, as well as options on the board for Chicago's #15 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Nathan: It’s felt like an eternity since the Chicago Bulls have had a meaningful direction as far as a rebuild is concerned, but new boss in charge Bryson Graham has that very opportunity in front of him. The decks are cleared in terms of the previous iteration of this roster/coaching staff, and he’s free to make this team in his image (most notably “SLAP”).

The good news for Graham and Co. is that the Bulls are in a position to add a core piece to the roster based entirely around the principles of their lovely acronym that focuses on positional size, length, and athleticism.

Each of the Top $ prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft have those physical qualities, while also offering enticing skill blends that lead to meaningful star-powered upsides in AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. The order in which these players are expected to go off the board is exactly that, with Wilson being the prime candidate to head to Chicago at #4 overall.

Maxwell, you’re our resident Chicago expert (along with Corey Tulaba), given your proximity to the city. Why don’t you start us off with your thoughts on Wilson as a prospect, his potential fit with the Bulls, and if you’d potentially consider trying to trade up for another player IF there is a better target for the team in your humble opinion.

Maxwell: I’m extremely bullish on Caleb Wilson, and I feel like he perfectly fits the identity the new front office is seeking to build. The biggest knock on Wilson is that he didn’t shoot the three well this year, nor did he take that many threes. That said, there are a lot of reasons for optimism about his game. When I did a piece a few years back on the path to starter value for non-shooters, one common thread was that they checked all the other boxes, and Wilson does that. He’s an outrageous defensive event creator. He fights like hell on the boards. He’s a super smart facilitator. He’s a big-time lob target and an excellent transition player. All of the non-shooting stuff is there.

But the reason I’m encouraged about Wilson’s shot was that in that same course of research, I dug into which types of players who struggled to shoot in college ended up finding success as shooters in the NBA. The two traits most common among players who made that leap: a hefty college usage rate and youth. Caleb Wilson has both. A third commonality was a high level of athleticism, which again, Wilson has. Throw in a nice percentage on pull-up two-point jumpers this season, and there’s reason to believe that Caleb Wilson could be an intelligent outlier athlete with size who can contribute in every area of the game. That sounds pretty damn good to me.

As far as fit, I’m into it. The Bulls still need a real, long-term starting five man, but Buzelis and Wilson bring a fun, nasty, athletic punch to the three-four slot. I also feel much better about them playing alongside each other now that Buzelis is putting up more threes. Plus, Wilson can hopefully tighten up his off-ball defensive instincts to cover up for Josh Giddey’s shortcomings on that end, though Giddey has improved quite a bit, as well as the bevy of smaller guards the team currently employs.

I actually have Wilson third on my board, so I’m sort of content to stay put and let him fall to four with regards to a trade-up scenario. Two questions for you, though. One, where are you at with Wilson as a prospect, and two, what would this hypothetical trade-up look like to you?

Nathan: I’m all for the Chicago Bulls drafting Caleb Wilson, and it’s not just because of the raw talent package. Like you said, he’s a scrapper in the best way with an unstoppable motor, and heart to win AND come in and change a culture. The last time the Bulls had players like that was when they had Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, and then it was Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen long before them. The city of Chicago deserves a player who embodies those principles, and they’d get him in Wilson.

But from a skill perspective, his blend of long strides, ball-handling, and flexibility/coordination are so enticing for what I’m personally looking for in the modern NBA. I get the concerns over a three-point shot. It’s important for any player positioned 1-4 in the league. However, we could be looking at a player who has the type of game that dominates teams inside the arc. He’s comfortable shooting from the midrange, his standstill passing continued to take leaps at North Carolina, and he’s working on how he can get others involved on the move. He’ll continue to get stronger, so his one or two dribbles to the rim and finish off those aforementioned long strides will only become more valuable and back-breaking against even great defenses.

Do I have some concerns about spacing and what that looks like on the court, should Matas Buzelis not develop as a shooter? Absolutely. However, are those questions enough to stop me from taking a talent like Wilson and figuring it out with a combination of forwards that’s been a successful franchise model in different capacities around the league? Absolutely not.

So, for a trade-up scenario to even be thought about when you can get that kind of talent staying right where you are, I’m not sure, Maxwell. And you know how much I love Cameron Boozer. I have him just like you at the top of my personal draft board. What would a trade-up to #3 look like with the Memphis Grizzlies?

Would Noa Essengue, the #4 pick, and a 2028 future first be enough to get it done for the Grizzlies to move off the chance to draft Boozer, a player that would give that franchise an offensive identity it doesn’t currently have? I’m not entirely sure, and it’s not a deal I personally would make. So, for as much as Chicago fans could dream about moving up and getting a guy other than Wilson, I’d say in this draft, none of these other franchises would even think about moving off their spot unless it was a godfather offer. And even then, I can’t with good conscience put together a package like that for a player that hasn’t even played a minute in the league, no matter how much I like them as prospects.

We don’t need to spend too much more time on the #4 selection, given that there realistically aren’t other options at that pick, no matter how much you or anyone else as a scout could talk themselves into one of the lead guards such as Mikel Brown Jr., Darius Acuff, etc. But I am curious, Maxwell, since you’re one of the best at identifying undervalued talent, who would you target at #4 IF the answer wasn’t Wilson?

Maxwell: The prospect of giving up a future first at this stage in the rebuild, especially given the uncertainty of lottery odds in the future, is a little too much to stomach off the top of my head. I’d gladly give up this year’s pick and Essengue to move up, but obviously, I get why Memphis would turn that down. I adore Cam Boozer, and I’d basically consider giving up anything else, but I think they really need to be stingy with draft equity at this point.

I obviously see the appeal of the lead guard crop. Mikel Brown Jr. can make threes from the parking lot and explode to the rim. Darius Acuff Jr. seemingly never turns it over and is an elite shot maker. Keaton Wagler had one of the best “out of nowhere” seasons in the country. This is an awesome group of prospects, and I understand the appeal of betting on them.

That said, at this stage in the process, each of them has a flaw so severe that I’d feel much more comfortable betting on Wilson. Mikel Brown Jr.’s shot selection is erratic, which led to him being far less efficient than desired this year. Darius Acuff’s defense was a total mess. Keaton Wagler is rail thin and somehow managed to go the whole season without dunking once, pointing to serious athletic flaws. I get that Wilson struggles to shoot it, but again, I think his indicators are more promising than people realize on that front. I also think his value is the highest if none of them improve upon their flaws, as well as if all of them improve upon their flaws. I just like his collective range of outcomes better.

Nathan: I’ll take us home by going over a few options at #15 for the Chicago Bulls, given that pick is close enough to be considered a lottery selection with all of the talent that projects to still be on the board.

The Bulls have a chance to absolutely swing for the fences BECAUSE of the option available at #4 in a loaded 2026 draft class. With a player like Caleb Wilson in tow, nailing this second first-rounder is something that could jumpstart a rebuild in ways fans only dream of. Chicago made considerable moves at last year’s trade deadline to strip down the previous iteration of the Bulls in favor of building towards the future. That meant shipping out some guards to bring in…even more guards, surprisingly. However, even if it’s in the cards to re-sign players like Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons, alongside Josh Giddey, none of those guys are stopping me from taking the best player available on the board by my rankings if that so happens to be yet another guard.

Labaron Philon, Christian Anderson, Ebuka Okorie, and Bennett Stirtz all project to come off the board anywhere from #9 to #26 in this 2026 draft. Those are wide ranges, given all of the lead guard prospects available in the class. But all of them have arguments for lottery grades, and all rank differently depending on who you talk to. If I were taking a guard for this team, I’d prioritize someone who has shot the cover off the ball prior to stepping foot in the NBA. So Anderson, Stirtz, and even Philon are the names I’d come up with for Chicago, and Philon and Anderson know how to defend and where to be to help their teams win big games.

I think any of those lead guards would be value picks at #15, but I’m also considering if other frontcourt talent takes a tumble down the board. Cameron Carr is the best wing prospect in this class who isn’t one of the aforementioned top talents like AJ Dybantsa. It’s between Carr and Dailyn Swain as next best wings, then a considerable drop off after that. So if Chicago wants to target an athletic shooting dynamo who can also cover ground and make plays defensively, then the franchise might have to move up a few spots to target a player like him.

But what if there’s a tumble down the board for a player like Jayden Quaintance? By pure talent, he projected as a potential Top 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft before the season started as one of its youngest players with defensive tools to fawn over at 6’9” with a 7’5” wingspan and a strong frame to keep building on. His ability to legitimately guard all over the floor, protect the rim, and run the floor in transition/roll to the basket is a skill set every NBA team wants on its roster. But given some serious medical questions that could impact his availability/durability moving forward, it’s growing likely that he’d be on the board for the Bulls in the middle of the first round. Would taking a swing like that be a massive risk for Bryson Graham’s first draft in Chicago? Absolutely. But would a frontcourt with size, athleticism, and defensive versatility fit the exact philosophy he’s trying to build? Also a yes.

Whichever direction Chicago goes on draft night, there’s a real shot to inject some serious talent into this organization and present one of the most fun products to watch in the Eastern Conference next season. Bulls fans, get excited!