2019 NBA Mock Draft: Learning from the playoffs
4. player. 24. . F. Duke. Cam Reddish
It just seems ridiculous to let Reddish fall out of the top five. We understand all of the arguments — he never asserted himself at Duke, his shooting is wack, he may never be able to create a shot for himself in the NBA. Yet Reddish is a physical freak, exactly the type of guy most NBA teams would kill to add to their roster. That they would see Reddish and ignore the opportunity to draft him is hard to believe.
If you want to win in the playoffs in the NBA, you have to be able to protect the rim and space the floor. The Bulls hope they drafted their rim protector of the future in Wendell Carter Jr. and could add to their floor-spacing this summer by adding Reddish to the core.
Chicago also drafted one of the quieter rookies in the league in Chandler Hutchison last June in an attempt to rejuvenate their wing rotation. Hutchison didn’t do anything special as a rookie but putting Hutchison and Reddish in a rotation headlined by Otto Porter Jr. gets Chicago closer to the wing depth they will need when they return to the postseason.
Another problem with the Bulls’ roster is a lack of playmaking. The team’s best stretch of the season came with Lauri Markkanen as the lead creator, which is not a sustainable way to keep winning unless Markkanen rises to an unforeseen level creating shots for his teammates as a passer. But if they indeed pick fourth as projected based upon their lottery odds, Chicago will lose out on the chance to take Ja Morant. They could consider Darius Garland, but building outward from the wing puts a high floor on your defense if you develop talent well — just ask the Magic.