ESPN 2026 Mock Draft has us picking 7th

[ChiTownHero1992]

Seems about right perpetually 6-10 and never getting any better or worse

[ChiTownHero1992]

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.

Highly disagree with this take, not a single thing about Zach Lavine's career points me to him being "good" on a "good team"...he has been above average-good on bad teams, and nearly every case of that in history shows when those players get to "good teams" they are mediocre at best...I have never thought of Zach Lavine as anything other then a mid-level player, he is a dime a dozen scorer that was given the chance to be the star and he never thrived in that situation period.

[ChiTownHero1992]

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

Huge Duke Fan, and i can't see anything that tells me Ngongba is anything more than a 2nd round talent that will likely never play big minutes in the NBA. We will see what he does for Duke this year, but i expect him to stay on the bench again at DUke, and likely there for 3-4 years never being a main piece

[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

Huge Duke Fan, and i can't see anything that tells me Ngongba is anything more than a 2nd round talent that will likely never play big minutes in the NBA. We will see what he does for Duke this year, but i expect him to stay on the bench again at DUke, and likely there for 3-4 years never being a main piece

Quite a few mocks have him top 20 next draft.

[coldfish]

I'd put us in the 6-10 range in the East. I think we'll be better than last year, and the East is worse. I'd be pretty shocked if we were the 7th worst team in the NBA, especially since there is no reason to remotely think we'd ever shift to a "tanking" strategy at end of season when we have traditionally turned it on at that point to beat up those teams and push for the play-in.

With a younger team, it even makes more sense to take that approach now when you can squint real hard and pretend you have a core that will be here instead of a vet laden team that you know is all on the downslide and already not making the playoffs. That approach is at least defensible now.

I don't believe in AKME's vision but he has put together a team that is young but not too young and is deep. I can see this team just grinding all year long and picking off wins as other teams rest players. 35 to 40 wins and another play in game.

The wildcard is Buzelis. If he takes a noticeable step forward then the ceiling on the team might be higher than I anticipate.

[PaKii94]

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

Ehhh this is who he remind me of in the 3 mins I watched

https://youtu.be/JTvAlQhn5j4?si=GH-3IVKnWn--HEq6

Remember block panther?

Maybe a bit bigger than him with less shooting.

[dougthonus]

I don't believe in AKME's vision but he has put together a team that is young but not too young and is deep. I can see this team just grinding all year long and picking off wins as other teams rest players. 35 to 40 wins and another play in game.

The wildcard is Buzelis. If he takes a noticeable step forward then the ceiling on the team might be higher than I anticipate.

I like Matas, but I'm not real high on him taking a big impact kind of leap for another year, but we'll see. I think the biggest wild cards are really just Giddey and Coby. Those two played like all-stars for a pretty long stretch to close out the year. If they can replicate their end of season play, this team actually was on a 52 game win pace post-all-star break with the roster that will play this whole season.

It's really crazy how much no one believes the ends of last season in the media/gambling world. They're predicting the Bulls roster that performed at a 52 win pace and is all young guys that should stay the same or improve will win 32 games. That's pretty wild. I don't believe in their end of year version of themselves either, but 20 game haircut seems insane.

Like the roster was clearly better than last year's roster, and that team win 39 games in a tougher East than this one will play in.

[coldfish]

I don't believe in AKME's vision but he has put together a team that is young but not too young and is deep. I can see this team just grinding all year long and picking off wins as other teams rest players. 35 to 40 wins and another play in game.

The wildcard is Buzelis. If he takes a noticeable step forward then the ceiling on the team might be higher than I anticipate.

I like Matas, but I'm not real high on him taking a big impact kind of leap for another year, but we'll see. I think the biggest wild cards are really just Giddey and Coby. Those two played like all-stars for a pretty long stretch to close out the year. If they can replicate their end of season play, this team actually was on a 52 game win pace post-all-star break with the roster that will play this whole season.

It's really crazy how much no one believes the ends of last season in the media/gambling world. They're predicting the Bulls roster that performed at a 52 win pace and is all young guys that should stay the same or improve will win 32 games. That's pretty wild. I don't believe in their end of year version of themselves either, but 20 game haircut seems insane.

Like the roster was clearly better than last year's roster, and that team win 39 games in a tougher East than this one will play in.

If I recall correctly, we thought last year's number was "easy money" too and we were right. I hate betting and never do it, but if I did I would pretty confidently put money on the over.

I think that Giddey and Coby will both have sections of time where they play well and times they play poorly leaving their season averages about what they have been with people arguing over which version is the real version of them. That's why I don't see them as the variables.

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4711294/matas-buzelis

Matas
Pre all star: 6.4p 2.8r 0.5a
Post all star: 13.0p 4.8r 1.9a

I think Matas was a contributor to that run you mentioned and I think its reasonable for him to sustain or improve that post all star run as a lot of it was just minutes and conditioning. Maybe people just take it as a given that he will so they don't look at him as a variable but IMO his improved contribution (and removal of Patrick minutes) was an underrated variable in the late season run.

[Indomitable]

I don't believe in AKME's vision but he has put together a team that is young but not too young and is deep. I can see this team just grinding all year long and picking off wins as other teams rest players. 35 to 40 wins and another play in game.

The wildcard is Buzelis. If he takes a noticeable step forward then the ceiling on the team might be higher than I anticipate.

I like Matas, but I'm not real high on him taking a big impact kind of leap for another year, but we'll see. I think the biggest wild cards are really just Giddey and Coby. Those two played like all-stars for a pretty long stretch to close out the year. If they can replicate their end of season play, this team actually was on a 52 game win pace post-all-star break with the roster that will play this whole season.

It's really crazy how much no one believes the ends of last season in the media/gambling world. They're predicting the Bulls roster that performed at a 52 win pace and is all young guys that should stay the same or improve will win 32 games. That's pretty wild. I don't believe in their end of year version of themselves either, but 20 game haircut seems insane.

Like the roster was clearly better than last year's roster, and that team win 39 games in a tougher East than this one will play in.

If I recall correctly, we thought last year's number was "easy money" too and we were right. I hate betting and never do it, but if I did I would pretty confidently put money on the over.

I think that Giddey and Coby will both have sections of time where they play well and times they play poorly leaving their season averages about what they have been with people arguing over which version is the real version of them. That's why I don't see them as the variables.

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4711294/matas-buzelis

Matas
Pre all star: 6.4p 2.8r 0.5a
Post all star: 13.0p 4.8r 1.9a

I think Matas was a contributor to that run you mentioned and I think its reasonable for him to sustain or improve that post all star run as a lot of it was just minutes and conditioning. Maybe people just take it as a given that he will so they don't look at him as a variable but IMO his improved contribution (and removal of Patrick minutes) was an underrated variable in the late season run.

Matas biggest contribution was the Bulls finally got some rim protection. Him and Zach Collins gave an improved level of interior play. Nikola actually contested some shots in the 2nd half.

[LateNight]

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.

Highly disagree with this take, not a single thing about Zach Lavine's career points me to him being "good" on a "good team"...he has been above average-good on bad teams, and nearly every case of that in history shows when those players get to "good teams" they are mediocre at best...I have never thought of Zach Lavine as anything other then a mid-level player, he is a dime a dozen scorer that was given the chance to be the star and he never thrived in that situation period.

Zach is a *very* good scorer with terrible instincts, especially in the clutch.

The fact that he is an absolutely phenomenal scorer and athlete has covered up tons of other issues that he has

[dougthonus]

Highly disagree with this take, not a single thing about Zach Lavine's career points me to him being "good" on a "good team"...he has been above average-good on bad teams, and nearly every case of that in history shows when those players get to "good teams" they are mediocre at best...I have never thought of Zach Lavine as anything other then a mid-level player, he is a dime a dozen scorer that was given the chance to be the star and he never thrived in that situation period.

There's no evidence about what he would be on a good team one way or the other, because he's never been on one.

He's most definitely not a "dime a dozen" scorer. There are very few scorers in the league that can produce his volume at his efficiency, and all of them are max contract guys. He's a notch below the elite scorers, but he's way above the Coby White's of the world. Obviously he's got plenty of other issues that prevent him from being a 1A player, but those may or may not become critical on an actual good team.

This isn't to say I'm highly confident Zach would be a stud on a good team just that I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he'd look like a really good player if next to a better player. Like if Klay had to be a #1 option his whole career, I think he'd suck balls, but now he might be a hall of famer.

[poolshark52]

It would be so great to draft a boozer!

[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

Ehhh this is who he remind me of in the 3 mins I watched

https://youtu.be/JTvAlQhn5j4?si=GH-3IVKnWn--HEq6

Remember block panther?

Maybe a bit bigger than him with less shooting.

Much longer than WCJ and much better instincts, skills, and hands which means better D.

WCJ def had more game on offense though.

[PaKii94]

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

Ehhh this is who he remind me of in the 3 mins I watched

https://youtu.be/JTvAlQhn5j4?si=GH-3IVKnWn--HEq6

Remember block panther?

Maybe a bit bigger than him with less shooting.

Much longer than WCJ and much better instincts, skills, and hands which means better D.

WCJ def had more game on offense though.

I'll defer to you cause I haven't watched anything on him besides the 3-5 mins of the video you posted but he didn't seem to pop to me from college kids. To me that's roleplayer projection in the NBA. Which isn't a bad thing but doesn't seem like a straight up center of the future type of player

[Chi town]

Ehhh this is who he remind me of in the 3 mins I watched

https://youtu.be/JTvAlQhn5j4?si=GH-3IVKnWn--HEq6

Remember block panther?

Maybe a bit bigger than him with less shooting.

Much longer than WCJ and much better instincts, skills, and hands which means better D.

WCJ def had more game on offense though.

I'll defer to you cause I haven't watched anything on him besides the 3-5 mins of the video you posted but he didn't seem to pop to me from college kids. To me that's roleplayer projection in the NBA. Which isn't a bad thing but doesn't seem like a straight up center of the future type of player

We want a defensive C. AK wanted Beringer I this past draft. That’s the archetype.

This dude is much like that with great offensive passing and gun skills. What he lacks in athleticism he makes up for in IQ, angles, and timing. Think young Capela that can really pass.