ESPN 2026 Mock Draft has us picking 7th

[ChettheJet]

If you're really a Bulls fan, do not spend the next 8 months of your life gnashing your teeth over what ESPN predicts for them for the 2026 draft. Or do yourself a favor and stay away from those of us who enjoy Bulls basketball and will see how everything plays out, FOR REAL.

[MrSparkle]

Worthless take until the first week of free agency is done.

They should know that 11-13 is the Arturas sweet spot.

[kodo]

There are always unexpected bad seasons and serious injuries that hit teams. Philly, Pelicans, San Antonio might be healthier next season but they'll just be replaced by 3 other teams. Injuries haven't stopped happening, hell we saw an achilles tear in the last game of the season.

So do think we'll just be back in that play-in range again, with some possibility of the winning run from end of last year being sustainable. But hard to feel confident without better defense.

[ShadyMoney]

We have to get better and the only way to do that is to get younger

We need 2 picks in each the ‘26 ‘27 and ‘28 drafts

This back half of the 20s has to be better than the first half.

[Dan Z]

The East should be weak this year, so I bet the Bulls are better than this prediction. How much better? Who knows, but I could see another 10-12th pick in the draft.

If the Bulls are bad again then they should really be bad and aim for a top 5 pick. It won't hurt them to do that for one season.

OKC did that twice. It's how they got Giddey and Chet.

[Chi town]

Yess is my guy. Think he will be the best player after DP. Legit Ant man with better D and higher IQ.

https://youtu.be/GrhS-Omrles?si=m7tTuJVXXiLd2EFY

[Jo Jo English]

Yess is my guy. Think he will be the best player after DP. Legit Ant man with better D and higher IQ.

https://youtu.be/GrhS-Omrles?si=m7tTuJVXXiLd2EFY

I didn't know anything about him going into the Nike Hoops Summit in April. He was one of those players that you couldn't help but notice during that game. Made a big impact on me after watching him play that night. He looks like a prospect that could explode in popularity as the 2026 draft draws nearer.

[SalmonsSuperfan]

Yess is my guy. Think he will be the best player after DP. Legit Ant man with better D and higher IQ.

https://youtu.be/GrhS-Omrles?si=m7tTuJVXXiLd2EFY

Is it just me, or is Anthony Edwards super overrated? I don't see any difference between him and Zach Lavine. Their year 5 rate stats are almost exactly the same. Zach took a big leap in year 6 and 7, will Edwards?

[meekrab]

7th is optimistic, Billy and Matas will have us failing to get into the playoffs in our usual 11th position.

[dougthonus]

On the flip side, the following teams will almost certainly be better than the Bulls: Thunder, Pacers, Knicks, Cavs, Nuggets, Wolves, Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, Rockets, Magic, Mavs, Pistons, Clippers.

Then there are the next tier, where the Bulls exist but on the lower end, of the: Heat, Hawks, Hornets, Bucks (yup - they really need to trade Giannis), Pels, Kings, Blazers, Sixers, Jazz, Raptors. Maybe the Nets and Suns are no Tatum but still Brown plus White Celtics are here, too (but I see them resting and being extra cautious with players to rack up losses).

I would stick the Pacers, Mavs, and Clippers in that next tier too. I don't buy the end of season Bulls, but it's probably worth noting while saying they are at the bottom of that tier, that after the trade deadline, they were on a 50+ win pace, and that's the exact roster that will be playing this whole season.

So even though I'm skeptical of that run for many reasons, it's not absurd to say the Bulls can't be at the top of that tier if they are able to continue something they showed over 30 games over 80 games, and also all the contributors to that are mostly young and have headroom or stable in their prime.

Which is really to say for me, I think the Bulls could go as high as 4 in the East, I'd be pretty surprised if they went less than 10th. They'll fight for the play in when other teams will fight for draft picks.

[sco]

On the flip side, the following teams will almost certainly be better than the Bulls: Thunder, Pacers, Knicks, Cavs, Nuggets, Wolves, Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, Rockets, Magic, Mavs, Pistons, Clippers.

Then there are the next tier, where the Bulls exist but on the lower end, of the: Heat, Hawks, Hornets, Bucks (yup - they really need to trade Giannis), Pels, Kings, Blazers, Sixers, Jazz, Raptors. Maybe the Nets and Suns are no Tatum but still Brown plus White Celtics are here, too (but I see them resting and being extra cautious with players to rack up losses).

I would stick the Pacers, Mavs, and Clippers in that next tier too. I don't buy the end of season Bulls, but it's probably worth noting while saying they are at the bottom of that tier, that after the trade deadline, they were on a 50+ win pace, and that's the exact roster that will be playing this whole season.

So even though I'm skeptical of that run for many reasons, it's not absurd to say the Bulls can't be at the top of that tier if they are able to continue something they showed over 30 games over 80 games, and also all the contributors to that are mostly young and have headroom or stable in their prime.

Which is really to say for me, I think the Bulls could go as high as 4 in the East, I'd be pretty surprised if they went less than 10th. They'll fight for the play in when other teams will fight for draft picks.

I'm predicting a AK big move at the deadline, which will help the team get to 45+ wins, so no #7.

[MGB8]

On the flip side, the following teams will almost certainly be better than the Bulls: Thunder, Pacers, Knicks, Cavs, Nuggets, Wolves, Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, Rockets, Magic, Mavs, Pistons, Clippers.

Then there are the next tier, where the Bulls exist but on the lower end, of the: Heat, Hawks, Hornets, Bucks (yup - they really need to trade Giannis), Pels, Kings, Blazers, Sixers, Jazz, Raptors. Maybe the Nets and Suns are no Tatum but still Brown plus White Celtics are here, too (but I see them resting and being extra cautious with players to rack up losses).

I would stick the Pacers, Mavs, and Clippers in that next tier too. I don't buy the end of season Bulls, but it's probably worth noting while saying they are at the bottom of that tier, that after the trade deadline, they were on a 50+ win pace, and that's the exact roster that will be playing this whole season.

So even though I'm skeptical of that run for many reasons, it's not absurd to say the Bulls can't be at the top of that tier if they are able to continue something they showed over 30 games over 80 games, and also all the contributors to that are mostly young and have headroom or stable in their prime.

Which is really to say for me, I think the Bulls could go as high as 4 in the East, I'd be pretty surprised if they went less than 10th. They'll fight for the play in when other teams will fight for draft picks.

Bucks got better since my post. No one thought they would take the hot on Dame. Porter Jr. Had his own fantastic stretches, though smaller than Giddey, but as a starter 19/6/6. Cole Anthony is a legit NBA rotation guard. They are banking on Rollins and Jackson stepping up a bit, Trent and Prince bouncing back... Anyway, with Giannis and Turner, hard for me to see them behind the baby Bulls (though still in the lower tier). Could happen, sure, but absent a Giannis trade...

As for the other 3 you mentioned, maybe the Pacers due to the Hali injury, but don't see it with the Mavs and Clips. Maybe if there is big blowout from the Kawhi thing. Harden, Kawhi, Zubac, added Beal to replace Powell, CP3, John Collins, plus still have role players DJjr and Dunn plus old men Bogs and Batum....

Ditto Mavs - even with Kyrie out for the first part of the season, they have Davis plus Flagg plus Lively/Afford plus Klay plus added D-Lo for perimeter scoring plus PJ Washington's 14+ pts as a glue guy, naji Marshall adding 13 as a role player defender, Hardy, Exum and Williams as POA defenders who add a bit of offense (8 or 9 pog)... The depth may be similar but the top guys are a different league. Absent someone blowing up, there is no Davis level player on the Bulls. And Flagg likely to be immediately better than most or all of Bulls players. Meanwhile, Bulls trudging out Vuc...

[dougthonus]

Bucks got better since my post. No one thought they would take the hot on Dame. Porter Jr. Had his own fantastic stretches, though smaller than Giddey, but as a starter 19/6/6. Cole Anthony is a legit NBA rotation guard. They are banking on Rollins and Jackson stepping up a bit, Trent and Prince bouncing back... Anyway, with Giannis and Turner, hard for me to see them behind the baby Bulls (though still in the lower tier). Could happen, sure, but absent a Giannis trade...

As for the other 3 you mentioned, maybe the Pacers due to the Hali injury, but don't see it with the Mavs and Clips. Maybe if there is big blowout from the Kawhi thing. Harden, Kawhi, Zubac, added Beal to replace Powell, CP3, John Collins, plus still have role players DJjr and Dunn plus old men Bogs and Batum....

Ditto Mavs - even with Kyrie out for the first part of the season, they have Davis plus Flagg plus Lively/Afford plus Klay plus added D-Lo for perimeter scoring plus PJ Washington's 14+ pts as a glue guy, naji Marshall adding 13 as a role player defender, Hardy, Exum and Williams as POA defenders who add a bit of offense (8 or 9 pog)... The depth may be similar but the top guys are a different league. Absent someone blowing up, there is no Davis level player on the Bulls. And Flagg likely to be immediately better than most or all of Bulls players. Meanwhile, Bulls trudging out Vuc...

Kyrie will likely be out the whole season or ineffective the whole season. I somehow forgot about Flagg though But they don't really have any perimeter players I believe in, they will need big seasons from Davis/Klay to be good, which isn't crazy to think, but two older injury prone dudes as your cornerstones is also dicey. That said, forgetting about Flagg, I agree, they have the pieces they should be above.

The way you described the Clippers makes me feel even worse about them then I did before. The guys going out are way better than the guys coming in. Harden's 36 and already struggles with conditioning, he's a "fall of a cliff" guy waiting to happen. Kawhi could have his deal voided at this point, and can never be relied upon anyway. Beal just sucked the past couple years, and Zubac is like saying we have Zach Collins, go us.

Bucks are interesting, I agree their additions are better than I thought, so you have maybe persuaded me on 2 out of 3

[League Circles]

Interesting pivot point, in theory picking 7th. I do believe we'll almost certainly be significantly better than that, but 7th and better are the draft slots that I typically project as likely to get something of value, where 8th and worse typically project as replacement level players after the shine wears off.

[kodo]

Clippers were a bit above .500 without Kawhi last season.
Out: Norm Powell (really underrated)
In: Collins, Beal, CP3.

Still feels like an above .500 team by the eyeball test. Although with a core that old, injuries will almost certainly be a factor where the Bulls are now remarkably healthy. Vuc doesn't get hurt for an old guy, Coby & Giddey are iron men by today's standards, both averaged 75 games last 3 seasons.

Assuming a Kawhi contract nullification, it will be interesting if Ballmer blows that up.

[The Box Office]

Y'all really trust Billy Donovan to get us into the playoffs? We shouldn't after all these years.

[drosestruts]

Yess is my guy. Think he will be the best player after DP. Legit Ant man with better D and higher IQ.

https://youtu.be/GrhS-Omrles?si=m7tTuJVXXiLd2EFY

Is it just me, or is Anthony Edwards super overrated? I don't see any difference between him and Zach Lavine. Their year 5 rate stats are almost exactly the same. Zach took a big leap in year 6 and 7, will Edwards?

Zach LaVine is just as talented as several of his peers who receive higher acclaim simply by existing on better teams. This includes:

Anthony Edwards
Devin Booker
Donovan Mitchell
etc.

These players, on a bad team, would have bad records (i.e. Devin Booker when the Suns are bad).

None could drag a bad team anywhere. Most have just been lucky to coincidentally be on well built rosters.

[Chi town]

Yess is my guy. Think he will be the best player after DP. Legit Ant man with better D and higher IQ.

https://youtu.be/GrhS-Omrles?si=m7tTuJVXXiLd2EFY

Is it just me, or is Anthony Edwards super overrated? I don't see any difference between him and Zach Lavine. Their year 5 rate stats are almost exactly the same. Zach took a big leap in year 6 and 7, will Edwards?

Zach LaVine is just as talented as several of his peers who receive higher acclaim simply by existing on better teams. This includes:

Anthony Edwards
Devin Booker
Donovan Mitchell
etc.

These players, on a bad team, would have bad records (i.e. Devin Booker when the Suns are bad).

None could drag a bad team anywhere. Most have just been lucky to coincidentally be on well built rosters.

I mostly agree with this. Zach on a good team would be a different story. He’s a perfect Robin to a legit Batman.

To the topic of the thread…

Yess is high IQ. I think he will be better than Ant. Elite motor and competitor. Just like Flagg.

[MGB8]

Bucks got better since my post. No one thought they would take the hot on Dame. Porter Jr. Had his own fantastic stretches, though smaller than Giddey, but as a starter 19/6/6. Cole Anthony is a legit NBA rotation guard. They are banking on Rollins and Jackson stepping up a bit, Trent and Prince bouncing back... Anyway, with Giannis and Turner, hard for me to see them behind the baby Bulls (though still in the lower tier). Could happen, sure, but absent a Giannis trade...

As for the other 3 you mentioned, maybe the Pacers due to the Hali injury, but don't see it with the Mavs and Clips. Maybe if there is big blowout from the Kawhi thing. Harden, Kawhi, Zubac, added Beal to replace Powell, CP3, John Collins, plus still have role players DJjr and Dunn plus old men Bogs and Batum....

Ditto Mavs - even with Kyrie out for the first part of the season, they have Davis plus Flagg plus Lively/Afford plus Klay plus added D-Lo for perimeter scoring plus PJ Washington's 14+ pts as a glue guy, naji Marshall adding 13 as a role player defender, Hardy, Exum and Williams as POA defenders who add a bit of offense (8 or 9 pog)... The depth may be similar but the top guys are a different league. Absent someone blowing up, there is no Davis level player on the Bulls. And Flagg likely to be immediately better than most or all of Bulls players. Meanwhile, Bulls trudging out Vuc...

Kyrie will likely be out the whole season or ineffective the whole season. I somehow forgot about Flagg though But they don't really have any perimeter players I believe in, they will need big seasons from Davis/Klay to be good, which isn't crazy to think, but two older injury prone dudes as your cornerstones is also dicey. That said, forgetting about Flagg, I agree, they have the pieces they should be above.

The way you described the Clippers makes me feel even worse about them then I did before. The guys going out are way better than the guys coming in. Harden's 36 and already struggles with conditioning, he's a "fall of a cliff" guy waiting to happen. Kawhi could have his deal voided at this point, and can never be relied upon anyway. Beal just sucked the past couple years, and Zubac is like saying we have Zach Collins, go us.

Bucks are interesting, I agree their additions are better than I thought, so you have maybe persuaded me on 2 out of 3

I actually think the horrid fit with KD and Booker has made Beal underrated. I think he will fill the Powell role better than Powell did. Collins... Yeah, I mean, there is talent, but not sure the fit. But CP3 I also think helps, especially where he won't have to play much. I just don't see them missing the playoffs, absent injury. And yeah, Harden or Leonard could both fall of at any moment.. but neither really relies on elite athleticism any more.

West will be rough, though. Outside of Utah, Portland, Phoenix, and Sactown,, maybe NoLA, rest of teams are good. And only Utah is talent poor (Portland after them, and maybe Phoenix..?).

As for Dallas, even w/out Kyrie, they added poor man's Kyrie in D-Lo (who will fit there because not much else on perimeter) plus Flagg. Good young rim runner center + Davis + Flagg + Klay + role players (D-Lo for scoring, PJ, Marshall, Hardy, Exum)... Could see them falling apart with injury but just think that on talent alone they manage to be around 500. I mean, the fit isn't much better than Sactown trash fit, so another reason for failure... But just feels like they are too invested in justifying moving Luka to not make playoffs.

[Chi town]

Think I found perfect fit for Bulls C of the future.
- elite length 6’11 7’4 wingspan
- elite hands on D for blocks deflections
- elite passer as PNR hub
- elite IQ on both ends with great anticipation
- strong rim protector with great timing on blocks
- excellent with pump fakes for fouls and easy shots
- 72% FT Shooter with soft touch
- only question is his feet in PNR. Only thing you can’t get a full read on
- Doesn’t shoot but attacks the rim off the dribble

Think he’s way better than Malauch. Tick below Beringer on D as he doesn’t have the elite athleticism. Hes very good on offense in a limited role.

Patrick Ngongba Soph at Duke.

https://youtu.be/vTBdW3hW_Fw?si=iYXb6d2lQEk11Cdl