Fansided

NBA Draft 2018: Winners and losers

By Trevor Magnotti

BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 21: Luka Doncic speaks to the media after being selected third overall at the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21, 2018 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kostas Lymperopoulos/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 21: Luka Doncic speaks to the media after being selected third overall at the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21, 2018 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kostas Lymperopoulos/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 11: Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls attempts a shot in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at the United Center on April 11, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 11: Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls attempts a shot in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at the United Center on April 11, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Loser No. 3: Bobby Portis

The Chicago Bulls actually had a pretty good draft, as they landed Wendell Carter Jr. with the seventh overall pick, and then got the guy they gave a promise to at the Draft Combine, Chandler Hutchison, with pick No. 22. Both guys are talented players, but create a problem for the Bulls to solve — they now have five quality players who can play the 4 in Carter, Hutchison, Lauri Markkanen, David Nwaba, and Bobby Portis.

Portis feels like the odd man out here. All the other players listed here have some flexibility — Carter and Markkanen can play the five, and Nwaba and Hutchison both will play minutes at the 3 as well. Portis is a little bit one-dimensional, and he doesn’t hold the same offensive value as Carter or the flexibility Hutchison does. That he K-O’ed Nikola Mirotic in the preseason probably doesn’t help, either.

Portis enters a contract year now as the potential low man on the totem pole in terms of value to the Bulls’ roster. That’s never a good position to be in, and he is going to have to work very hard to gt to a point where this draft doesn’t cost him a lot of money next summer.

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