The Chicago Bulls fought tooth and nail to crack the Play-In Tournament, only to get ousted by the No. 10 seed Miami Heat in the first game. That has been the story of this Bulls team for a while — a maddening commitment to treading water in NBA mediocrity.
As some point, the front office needs to look inward and recalibrate. For now, Chicago will presumably hope to strike gold with the No. 12 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo point to BYU jumbo guard Egor Demin as the "most likely" selection for the Bulls.
"Egor Demin is a more polarizing prospect but will be studied closely by every team drafting in this range with his outstanding positional size, feel for the game, playmaking prowess and long-term upside," writes Givony. "His fit alongside Josh Giddey, who is a restricted free agent, will need to be considered along with Giddey's status, but he's the type of multi-positional prospect who could fit in a variety of lineups if his perimeter shooting progresses as expected."
Demin was projected 15th overall to Oklahoma City in FanSided's last mock draft, so he falls squarely in the Bulls' range.
Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided's daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend. If you hate it, share it with an enemy!
Bulls select BYU's Egor Demin in ESPN mock draft, earning Josh Giddey 2.0 comps
There's clear logic behind such a selection for the Bulls. With Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis emerging as franchise cornerstones, Chicago has made a clear investment in the intersection of size and skill. Demin, at 6-foot-9 and 190 pounds, ranks among the most capable playmakers in the 2025 draft. He's a true point guard trapped in a wing's body, which is an archetype NBA front offices covet.
In fact, Demin is often compared directly to Giddey, with both The Ringer and Yahoo Sports connecting the dots in their NBA Draft guides. Demin, like Giddey, is a preternaturally gifted passer with a high basketball IQ, but he's also a shaky 3-point shooter with limited burst and self-creation chops.
It's hard not to be impressed with the season Giddey put together in Chicago, especially after all the criticism he endured in the aftermath of the Alex Caruso trade. Now a restricted free agent, Giddey could command up to nine figures on his next contract. No team is better positioned to give it to him than Chicago.
That said, the Bulls need to tread carefully with Demin — especially if re-signing Giddey is the plan. Demin's scoring metrics just aren't great. He hit 27.3 percent of his 3s at BYU and was a middling finisher at the rim. He makes the occasional pull-up jumper, but Demin struggles to get downhill and create separation against tight defense. His limited first step and lack of outlier quickness leads to a ton of stifled drives and contested below-the-rim finishes. It's unclear if he's an NBA-level scorer.
He has plenty of time to grow at 19 years old, but Demin's unique size and passing combo has overshadowed far too many valid concerns about his overarching skill set. You need to be able to generate advantages and score consistently to succeed as an NBA point guard. If Demin spends more time off-ball in the league, then his poor shooting only becomes more problematic. He's not much of a defender either.
The Bulls stocking up on tall, high-IQ playmakers is a great plan in theory, but it's fair to wonder if the Giddey facsimile is really the best option for a team with Giddey already on the roster. On paper, Demin and Giddey combine to offer very shaky floor-spacing and limited rim pressure. Neither is going to command the opponent's best defender on a good team.