NBA Draft 2019: 5 targets for the Chicago Bulls

1. Jarrett Culver, SF, Texas Tech

The Step Back Big Board Ranking: 3

If you want the best shot in the draft class at getting a productive role player who could follow the Khris Middleton path into long-term All-Star projection, it’s Culver. There’s a low chance that he’s available at the No. 7 pick, but if the draft goes off the rails, the Bulls could luck into an incredible outcome for their draft spot.

Culver does have his negatives — a limited handle and shaky jumper, primarily — but he’s a very strong finisher in the lane, and more importantly, has shown a diverse profile in terms of drives into the lane even without a good handle because of his ability to control his body and absorb contact. He figures to at the very least be a competent pick-and-roll and straight-line driver, and if his shot gets ironed out into a top-quartile shooting stroke, that is going to unlock primary initiation upside. Like Ja Morant, Culver’s ability to grow into being a gravity-pulling shooter off the dribble is going to swing whether he hits his ceiling or not.

The difference between Morant and Culver, of course, is that Culver’s defensive upside is probably the best of any wing in the class (unless you think Clarke is a wing). With a 6-foot-9.5 wingspan and 8-foot-4 standing reach (both disappointing, but definitely still acceptable), Culver should have the length to survive minutes defending at the 4 and containing the pick-and-roll, and he’s probably the smartest wing in terms of rotating to open shooters once a defense has collapsed. The defensive fit of Culver on the Bulls is brilliant, and he has enough offensive upside to really help take this team’s offense to the next level. Much like every other team ahead of them, the Bulls couldn’t really go wrong by ending up with Jarrett Culver.