The NBA draft order was determined on May 12th, earlier this summer, when the Chicago Bulls claimed the 11th selection in the 2024 NBA Draft. After spending a month speculating and predicting who Arturas Karnisovas’s front office group would select with this pick, tonight is the night to find out. Several rumors have claimed the Bulls intend to move into the top ten, that they’re targeting a center, and that Zach LaVine may have spent his last day in Chicago. Tonight’s draft will also be a much better indicator of the franchise’s direction, where DeMar DeRozan will land in free agency, and how they choose to build around newly acquired point guard Josh Giddey. Who are the two most mentioned draftees amongst sports outlets, and which one makes more sense for the Bulls?
Five of six randomly selected mainstream media outlets had the Chicago Bulls selecting Devin Carter from Providence College. While nobody would be surprised to see the 22-year-old guard be chosen in the top ten, the Bulls’ newfound need for a defensive menace in the backcourt makes Carter a great fit alongside 21-year-old Giddey. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, Chicago is also widely considered Carter’s “floor” in this draft.
This would be a direct replacement for Alex Caruso, with scoring upside that could replace the potentially departing LaVine, shooting nearly 38% from three-point range while scoring nearly 20 points per outing in his final season of collegiate ball. The one point of contention with Chicago drafting the Providence guard is that he was not one of the six players they hosted for a pre-draft workout, either because they were confident he would be selected by the time they were on the clock or that they still had Caruso at the time.
Holland is more of an experimental pick with incredible upside. He is an 18-year-old, 6’8″ forward who opted to play in the NBA G League for the Ignite over collegiate basketball. Posting 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game last season with 44% shooting from the field, his athleticism and rim-attacking abilities offensively make him an appealing option to pair with newly acquired Giddey and Chicago’s newest star, Coby White.
If the Bulls are going to lose DeMar DeRozan or Patrick Williams in free agency, this would be someone filled with potential who can fill the void at the forward position. Unlike Carter, Holland was hosted by Chicago for a pre-draft workout.
It’s worth mentioning that Terrance Shannon Jr. has a slight chance of being drafted by the Chicago Bulls. The 6’6″, 23-year-old wing has a scoring prowess that can instantly translate to the NBA level, and with the possible departures of LaVine or DeRozan, 40 shots in the box score will need to be replaced. He was another prospect that the Bulls brought in for a workout before tonight’s draft, and he’s also from Chicago. News this morning also would lean toward the possibility that this transpires in tonight’s draft. Do the Bulls throw a last-minute wildcard and draft the hometown kid?
