As of now, the Chicago Bulls don’t have a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Their first-round pick belongs to the Orlando Magic by way of the Nikola Vucevic trade, and their second-round pick was stripped from them by the NBA, as they determined Chicago violated tampering rules when signing Lonzo Ball in 2021.
However, they have been staying active ahead of the draft. Chicago has interviewed plenty of high-profile prospects and just recently scheduled a workout with Wake Forest guard Tyree Appleby. But if they are going to trade into the draft, they should target Gonzaga wing Julian Strawther. He would be the perfect fit in Chicago.
Arturas Karnisovas is determined to compete with the current core, and if that’s the case, he needs to add win-now pieces, and getting one on a rookie contract would be even better. Strawther could be that guy.
The 6-foot-7 wing just wrapped up his third season at Gonzaga and put up great numbers. He averaged 15.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 40.8 percent shooting from behind the three-point line.
Adding wing depth will be crucial for the Bulls this summer, and Strawther’s three-point shooting would be a great addition to the squad. Having catch-and-shoot guys on the perimeter will be a necessity.
Strawther is also a plus-defender, and with Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic leading the charge in Chicago, they need solid defensive players up and down the roster.
Considering Strawther is widely projected to go in the late first round or early second round, the Bulls would have to make a significant deal, but it would be worth it to land the former Bulldog.
