2021 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Chicago Bulls leap up the lottery, land their next big star

This is about as miraculous a scenario as the Chicago Bulls could imagine. By jumping up eight spots to No. 1, they get to keep their top-four protected pick instead of sending it to the Orlando Magic. And in addition, they get a chance to add a transformational talent who can help anchor both their current roster and any future iterations.

Cunningham is an elite passer, creator and pull-up shooter who projects to be a very strong defender as well. He’ll likely function as a point guard on offense, for all intents and purposes but he’s big enough to play the 3 full-time which means the Bulls could roll with Coby White, Zach LaVine, Cunningham, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic as their starting lineup next season. Cunningham could help LaVine excel, take plenty of the creation pressure off of White, and give the Bulls two strong wing defenders to build around. And the individual abilities of LaVine and Vucevic will help Cunningham adjust to life as a primary NBA scoring threat.

The Bulls can keep Markkanen off the bench or try and move him for more depth. Either way there’s a good chance this group could leap into the top half of the Eastern Conference next season with three starters under the age of 21.

Check out our full scouting report for more on Cade Cunningham.