NBA Mock Draft 2019: The Pelicans are in the driver’s seat
7. player. 24. . G. Vanderbilt. Darius Garland
Two sides of the coin here for the Bulls: Go get your guy in an attempt to finalize the rebuild with a developmental coach now in place in Jim Boylen, or take a player at a position of need who falls your way? Both are actually decent options for Chicago, as Garland is a guy many believe to be the fourth-best player in this class but who may fall because of a lack of faith in the four-game sample of his college tape.
This comes from Vecenie as well:
"“… Sources around the league believe that Chicago will consider moving this pick to move up if the price is right. It’s hard for me to see that, though, if they think White or Garland might get to their pick.”"
While Vecenie doesn’t believe trading up will be necessary, there’s just enough White and Garland hype here that it feels as if the Bulls may seriously consider trading up. Their future picks are all clean and they have some extra second-rounders. Their own 2020 first-round pick, lottery-protected, is probably enough to get it done.
Particularly with Phoenix just ahead of them, the Bulls may feel pressure to jump up even one spot to get a point guard. The pressure is reasonable. Not having a starting-caliber lead playmaker puts a ceiling on the development of other players, as Chicago and Phoenix both showed this past season. You have to really like Garland or White to make a trade like this, but both bring floor-spacing and decent size that match what Chicago needs at this spot.