Why don’t the Chicago Bulls have any draft picks? Will Zach LaVine be traded? 7 big questions ahead of the NBA draft. – The Denver Post

The blockbuster 2023 NBA draft will kick off in New York City on Thursday night — and as of today, the Chicago Bulls will not have a single pick.

The Bulls traded away the bulk of their draft stock in recent years, which could lead to an anticlimactic draft night. If the team doesn’t make a move to secure a draft pick, this will be the first time the franchise hasn’t participated in the NBA draft since 2005.

Here’s how the Bulls got to this point.

1. Where did the picks go this year?

The Bulls could have had three picks in the 2023 draft — one first-rounder and two second-rounders. But all three picks have been ceded — either in trades or as a penalty — leaving the Bulls without a stake in the current action.

When the Bulls traded with the Orlando Magic for center Nikola Vučević in 2021, they included a protected first-round draft pick in the package that ultimately fell to this year. The Vučević trade already cost the Bulls a first-rounder in 2021, which the Magic used to select guard Franz Wagner. After the draft lottery, the Bulls officially conveyed their pick to the Magic as the last piece of the Vučević trade.

The Bulls also conveyed their 2023 second-round pick to the Washington Wizards as part of a 2019 trade in which they received Tomás Satoranský and a 2022 second-rounder.

2. What about that other second-round pick?

The Bulls previously held the No. 57 pick in the second round, which they gained from the Denver Nuggets as part of a three-way trade to send Lauri Markkanen to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls received a 2022 first-round pick (used to select Dalen Terry), a 2023 second-round pick and forward Derrick Jones Jr. in the trade.

However, the Bulls forfeited the 2023 second-rounder acquired in this trade after they were found guilty of tampering in the process of acquiring Lonzo Ball in a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. The loss of the draft pick only rubs salt into a wound for the Bulls, who have barely seen the payoff of acquiring Ball after a confounding knee injury sidelined the star point guard for the last year and a half.

3. What happened at the draft lottery?

There was a slim chance — 8.5% odds, to be exact — the Bulls could have retained the No. 11 overall pick in the draft through the draft lottery. In addition, there was an even lesser chance — 1.8% odds — they could have landed the top overall pick.

But the lottery balls didn’t fall the right way for the Bulls, whose pick remained at No. 11 and was promptly ceded to Orlando.

4. Could the Bulls trade for a pick?

The simple answer is yes.

While the draft is only a few days away, the Bulls have plenty of time left to put together a package to entice a pick out of any number of teams in the NBA.

The more important question is whether it’s worth it. This year’s draft has earned plenty of attention due to the prolific spotlight surrounding guaranteed No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama and other standout prospects such as Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller. But the top crust of the draft is too strong to break into without breaking the bank — there’s no chance the Bulls can pry the No. 1 pick away from San Antonio and it would take a massive deal to similarly sway Charlotte, Houston or Portland out of their top-four positioning.

The Bulls could set their sights on a pick lower in the first-round rotation, but this would likely require trading away an attractive glue player like Alex Caruso — or even a veteran like DeMar DeRozan.

5. Would the Bulls trade Zach LaVine this week?

Zach LaVine is clearly the most valuable piece on the board for the Bulls.

After inking a $215 million maximum contract last summer, LaVine went on to post 24.8 points per game in a season that ended strong and showcased improvements in his abilities as both a defender and a playmaker. And LaVine sits at a sweet spot in the balance between youth and experience — he’s logged nine years in the league, but still has four years left on his contract at the age of 28.

While LaVine would garner the most in a trade — and has been reportedly shopped out by the Bulls across the league — it’s incredibly unlikely the Bulls would trade their leading star for draft picks outright. If a deal goes through this week or later in the summer, the Bulls would likely need a guaranteed payoff in the form of a current player who could offer a clear road map forward for the front office to build around.

6. How have the Bulls fared in previous drafts?

The Bulls have struggled to draft effectively in recent seasons despite relatively consistent positioning in the first round.

Five players from the last four years of NBA drafts remained on the Bulls payroll at the end of the 2022-23 season — Coby White from 2019, Patrick Williams and Marko Simonović from 2020, Ayo Dosunmu from 2021 and Dalen Terry from 2022. But this group has seen relatively minimal usage outside of the secondary unit.

White and Dosunmu featured as starting point guards at different points in their Chicago tenures. Williams finally moved into the starting rotation this season after missing nearly an entire year with a wrist injury, only to be relegated back into the secondary rotation during the final stretch of the season. Simonović has seen the majority of his professional action with the Windy City Bulls while Terry rode the bench this year without the benefit of many G-League minutes.

7. Will the Bulls have picks in future years?

Since the Bulls did not move up in the first round through the draft lottery this year, they will regain outright ownership of their first-round draft pick in 2024.

Additionally, the Bulls will have a protected top-10 pick in the first round of the 2025 draft — although that pick will be conveyed to San Antonio if they do not land in the top 10 either through the draft lottery or through the natural draft seeding mechanism of the regular season.

The Washington Wizards will claim the Bulls’ second-round pick in 2024 and the Spurs will claim their second-round pick in 2025 as a final piece of the DeRozan trade.

Their draft stock will improve in 2026, when the Bulls will return to outright owning the remainder of their future draft picks — although that situation could change if the front office requires extra padding for a trade.

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