Unpacking the NBA Draft: Bulls’ Picks, Hidden Gems, and Bold Predictions with Ricky O’Donnell

Unpacking the NBA Draft: Bulls’ Picks, Hidden Gems, and Bold Predictions with Ricky O’Donnell

[Music] hi everybody welcome into the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota I am Kevin Anderson joined by my good friend SB Nation NBA and draft Insider Ricky odonnell uh Ricky this is this is your month this is the draft this is uh June is your favorite time of year you do a lot of scouting internationally um locally High School College um draft is is kind of your Super Bowl there are very few people um covering the NBA who know more about uh draft scouting than Ricky O’Donnell so Ricky uh thank you for being on I guess just first ask the um obvious question how excited are you for this draft like is is June truly like your month every year you just get like very excited to like just dive into it and have it uh you know just be your Super Bowl well I also run all the March Madness coverage so March is my month and now I actually run all the NFL coverage for nation so I kind of everything’s my Super Bowl these days Kevin but you know I’m happy to do it happy to still have my job in sports media and love covering the NBA draft as always and this I’m very lucky that this is the I think 11th NBA draft I’ve covered at Nation I do think this is probably the weakest one at the top with that being said I think there are a lot of really good talents uh in this draft is any draft there’s going to be uh you know All-Star caliber players littered throughout the class even if there isn’t an obvious number one overall pick to me when we talk about the strength of the draft class typically what you’re talking about is there’s one or two players so good at the top of the draft that not even the worst front office in the NBA could miss on these guys last year with Victor wanyama is a perfect example of that we’ve also seen you know uh Zion will willamson Anthony Davis plenty of others you could go down the list in recent years uh this season is interesting because I think if you ask five different teams who they would take at number one you might get five different answers it is not a draft that’s very talented at the top but I do think there’s some decent depth to this draft and uh you know the when you think about the weakest draft in recent NBA history the first one that comes to mind is 2013 where Anthony Bennett went number one overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers that draft was pretty terrible but guess what it also had jannis and DMO who went right out of the right outside of the lottery and it had another Hall of Famer at the end of the first round in Rudy Gober so I think even bad drafts have good players and with the 11th pick I think the Bulls are in a pretty good position to hopefully add a premium young talent to the team with that selection I’ve seen some national experts uh and pundits um characterize this draft is if if you took this draft draft and put them in most other years let’s say last year for example combine the player player classes right that not a single player from this year’s draft would be drafted in top five or top 10 in most years is that like over is that being hypercritical about the quality in this year’s draft or is that just being honest about the lack of uh topheavy players in this year’s class yeah I don’t think anyone from this draft would have won in the top five last year I do think last year was a really strong draft and you know we say that but scoot Henderson was just terrible as a rookie maybe he can still Salvage his career I still believe in scoot but people were saying like this guy would have gone number one in any draft besides for the wanyama draft he was he struggled a lot is a rookie for the Portland Trailblazers so you know that just goes to show you that how we view these guys as prospects doesn’t always translate to what they become in the NBA team context has a lot to do with it and yeah I do think this is a weaker draft at the top just because there’s not a lot of shock creation from the top prospects like I published a new mock draft at uh ESP Nation yesterday and the number one pick I gave them was Alex SAR this was my mock draft where here’s what I would do with every pick just in case you know you need the wisdom of a 37 year old blogger guiding these NBA teams on what to do but uh Alex SAR is not a typical number one overall pick if he does go number one because he’s much more of a play finisher than a play creator his offense is a real question mark to me like he’s not someone you give the ball to him he’s going to cook off the dribble he is you know the main appeal of him is he’s a switchable Defender it’s 7 foot one he’s super athletic great in transition can catch lobs can play out of the role and has some shooting potential uh but he’s someone who just does not look like a typical number one pick to me you know nothing compared to like Paulo Bank Caro or you know just you go down the line from the guys who are usually the number one pick in the draft they are shot creators Anthony Edwards and SAR doesn’t have that so I still think he’s you know probably the worthy number one overall pick in this draft for the Hawks but have someone else as your guest on this podcast next week and they could tell you something totally different so that’s to me that’s why it’s being viewed as a bad draft because there’s no consensus top player who you can just say this guy definitely has all-nba level Talent uh at the top of the draft I saw reports on Monday that the Atlanta Hawks are considering a true blowup trading uh Murray and Trey young away um and just basically hitting the reset button at the start of this draft is that something if you were the Hawks GM VP of basketballs would you recommend that I know that Murray I Murray and Trey don’t really fit together that well but like doing a complete blowup um seems a bit um extreme here’s the thing man the Hawks owe an unprotected 2025 first round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs for the Murray trade they also owe an unprotected 2027 first round draft pick to the Spurs for the Murray trade so why would they totally blow up the team they don’t have control of their picks and we also know the Spurs have a top eight protected pick from the Bulls uh for the demard de rozan trade so the Spurs you know they have they’re just in such a good position it’s like comical like they got two top eight picks in this draft they’ve the single best Cornerstone in the league and Victor wanyama who will be the best player in the world in a matter of time and yeah they got two unprotected Hawks picks so I don’t see why the Hawks would blow it up personally if I was the Hawks I’d keep Trey young he’s 25 he’s just starting the prime of his career he’s a really good play Creator one of the better passers in the league obviously he’s not a perfect player we all know the shortcomings of Trey young but to me like you want to pair Alex SAR with someone like Trey young like SAR can finish the plays that Trey young creates is such he has so much potential defensively he may not be there quite yet but like he’s one of these rare big men who 71 and can defend on the perimeter so you know that’s who you need next to Trey young like someone to clean up Trey Young’s mistakes defensively so I think you know they’re in a good position to maybe trade to jonte Murray maybe trade him to the Spurs see if you could get your own picks back or at least want them uh and then you know draft alexar build around Trey Jaylen Johns SAR Aang wo so I think the Hawks they kind of got something Brewing of course they were no match for the mighty Chicago bows in the playing tournament so who’s to say how bright their future really is uh Ricky you’ve been doing mock draft for uh 10 years uh you’ve been better part of a decade uh tell me the Pick you are most proud of in terms of the guy that you really thought was going to be a top level NBA player and you were like team’s really should take him what’s the what’s the projection in in the last decade that you’re most proud of I’m glad you asked me about my hits and not my misses because I could go on about my misses as well that’s the next question that’s the next question okay for hits it’s got to be Luca I was all in on Luca I thought that Luca not going number one was just a crime against basketball and the fact that three teams passed on him with the Suns taking DeAndre Aon the kings taking Marvin baggley and the Hawks trading out of that pick to take Trey young uh I thought NBA teams were just totally overthinking that and it was ridiculous at the time and I’m not going to say that I thought Luca would be a top three overall player in the NBA but I did think he was going to be excellent he is excellent only 25 years old and unfortunately as we tape this podcast today it just seems like he’s a little overmatched Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals but yeah I feel like I was right about Luca so I’ll take a Victory lap on that one all right give me your biggest Miss who’s the guy you thought for sure was going to be a star in the league and just has not worked out I’m pretty sure I went on this podcast in 20120 and said the blls should draft Killian Hayes Killian Hayes was not good at all so that was a big Miss by me defensively Killian Hayes can bring it but he’s got no game offensively uh Jerick Culver was another guy I thought would be really good I believe that was 2019 he basically flamed out of the league immediately so those are two that come to mind in terms of my big misses recently all right uh let me since you brought up Luca uh this is a debate I was having uh in the group chat a couple weeks ago if you did a complete redraft of the league today um total reset who goes first overall well I think joic is still the best player in my opinion but I believe joic is about to turn 30 Luca being five years younger uh you know I think wemi goes first though as we talk about this like wem’s going first l probably going second uh but yeah I mean we could be staring at a Victor wanyama all NBA season in his second year at 21 years old and uh I don’t I don’t think a team would take Luca over him but of course you never know but yeah as of right now I would say wemi won Luca two is the upside of wemi that great that after one season it just because of his impact on defense because of his growth potential on offense is he just you you just couldn’t pass on him if you were doing a reset right now absolutely yeah he’s eight feet tall and he shoots threes and he handles the ball like a guard and he’s just incredible and you know watching the finals one thing that has jumped out to me is sort of like what the Celtics are doing is putting Jason Tatum on Dallas’s centers switching everything with Tatum it’s what makes Tatum very unique is you know a nominal small forward but he’s huge and he’s strong and he’s a very talented player even outside of his you know offensive ability but you know you could not put Jason Tatum on wanyama I don’t think you could you couldn’t put him on joic either uh and so this is a favorable matchup for Boston because they can do that and I just think that like if you really try to like game out the philosophy angles of the league you know someone like wanyama there’s just no answers for him when he hits his Peak so you know wem’s going number one to me Luca probably number two and after that you can debate it probably yes G or ant uh we go third I think in that debate um all right let’s dive into our our local professional basketball team here in Chicago the Bulls uh they’re picking 11 your latest mock draft in s SP Nation as of right now you said that and what I liked about your uh qualifier for the year mock draft you say it’s the perfect draft for each team and so given who you think is going to go in the top 10 uh you think Tyler Smith um forward out of League unite um G League unite should be the Bulls pick given what you project be the top 10 at um let me first ask this question given the variance in so many mock drafts um are there players that you project could go 10 top 10 end up not even being in the top 20 like is there just so much um debate about like in and I guess lack of clarity at this draft that players are just going to be picked everywhere like he’s doing a mock draft this year harder than every year you’ve ever done totally yeah and that shows up in my early mock draft every year I’ll do a mock draft the day after the draft for next year and I was looking back at my first projection this year and I you know it still looks decent but I mean compared to previous years it’s probably my least accurate early mop draft and that just goes back to the lack of consensus in this class like a year ago we said well who’s going to be the number one player in 2024 there’s no guy I could tell you right now the number one pick in 2025 is g to be Cooper flag the number one pick in 2026 is going to be Cameron Boozer the number one pick in 2027 might be Tyron Stokes but you have there’s never been any point in this cycle where you could like game that out and be like okay this is the guy in 24 I had Alex SAR as the 12th pick coming into the air uh you know he had two really good showings against the G League ignite to start the year and that kind of catapulted him up and he had a pretty solid season in Australia as well um but yeah I think like you know in this mock I published and that was like what I would do with every pick I put Ron Holland number two g-league ignite Wing think he’s really good uh makes me feel old because he was born on my 18th birthday but you know that’s just the game we’re in right now Kevin yes I like Holland all these mock drafts have Holland potentially falling out of the lottery and I have him as a top three player in this class so my recent mock was more just like here’s what I would do but uh what’s actually going to happen when draft Knight comes I think is anyone’s guess and I would not be surprised if Ron Holland is on the board when the Bulls pick at number 11 I would not be surprised if Ron Holland is on the board after the Bulls pick at number 11 and you know could potentially slide out of the lottery so there’s so much fluidity in this class and I would expect there to be a wild draft night because of that lack of consensus could see a lot of Trades could see like more off theboard picks than normal because you know in this class it’s kind of a weird class you might as well just take a chance on your guy and not really worry about uh you know what the consensus says you should do so talk to me about Tyler Smith why given who you expect to go in the top 10 why do you think he’s the best pick for the Bulls at 11 yeah so if I was making a bulls board my first tier of prospects would be nicoa topic Ron Holland and Isaiah k because as I am approaching this draft from the Bulls perspective the number one need of the Bulls is for someone to raise their long-term ceiling the Bulls right now are a middling team that’s capped out their best players are old they don’t have a 2025 pick in a stronger draft next year uh unless they’re in the top eight so the Bulls present is pretty bleak and their future is far more depressing and they’re present to me because your best player is about to turn 35 years old and D rozan vich is sliding downhill very quickly and there’s just not a lot of young Talent on the team so as I’m approaching this pick I would say I don’t care about next year the team is not that good there is no quick fix to save this team and to actually get them to a competitive place the number one thing the Bulls need is someone to raise their longterm future so my top tier of prospects for the Bulls who could all realistically be available when they pick at number 11 is Serbian point guard Nia topic who is a super fast Rim pressure guard Ron Holland who is the type of player arturus kovis normally takes a toolsy wing really athletic can’t shoot but the difference is that Ron hen’s actually good and then the third player is Isaiah ker who’s a USC point guard was the top rated recruit in the country coming into USC had a pretty down year but his blend of speed athleticism ball handling Rim pressure passing vision is pretty intriguing to me so I would be thinking heavily about Isaiah ker who’s probably the most likely of the three to be on the board but honestly all three could be on the board but in this draft in this mock draft that I wrote since it’s here’s what I would do with every pick Well Ron Holland’s coming off the board at number two topage is going to the Spurs ker is going to the Jazz so my next tier of players then I got a few guys I’m thinking about Tyler Smith I like g-league ignite he was really the only ignite player who had a good year here’s what I like about him 6 foot n Barefoot so 610 610 and a half in shoes and just shoots the lights out and I feel like if you can’t get a guy with upside what you should maybe be looking for is skilled sides and Tyler Smith as size he’s very skilled uh he has his own shortcomings as a player for sure but what I like about him is his size and shooting right like he’s sort of a classic stretch four in that he’s not really like a big Wing like he he he struggles to handle the ball but catch and shoot really good very good relocation shooter like knowing where to find the soft spots in the defense how to pop back out to the three-point line can shoot over the top of anyone at that size and he’s got some tough shot making ability inside the arc too so that would be my sales pitch on Tyler SMI he’s also athletic he dunked the ball a ton this year for the ignite gets off the floor pretty quickly to finish inside um he’s typically mocked way outside of the ladder uh because he can’t handle the ball in these days like do you want a four who can just shoot it you kind of want a four who can like make plays off the bounce too and defensively he’s just totally lost personally I believe the Bulls can normally get players to develop defensively and that like they have a pretty good defensive infrastructure to like help guys on that end of the floor uh I would not be thinking about fit with this pick at all for the Bulls but I just think like you know long term you can always use a guy who’s big and can shoot it so Tyler Smith that’s sort of the sales pitch on him and then just three other names I’ll quickly mention I like K we from Indiana another big guy 71 who can shoot it is really athletic uh I like Devin Carter from Providence a name that has been mentioned to the Bulls I spoke with him quite a bit at the draft combine uh he’s who I would say is more of a high floor player than a high ceiling player but man we said the same thing about Jaylen Bronson and he became a pretty great NBA player and then I also like yiz Messi a center from Baylor too so those are just a few names who I think the bll should be looking at if alland topic and ker are indeed off the board at number 11 I’m intrigued by Cody Williams um walk me through what you see of Cody’s upside his positives and what things he really needs to work on yeah younger brother of Jaylen Williams Oklahoma City thunderstar for sure once again this would be a classic AK pick for Cody Williams he’s a long toolsy Wing 7-1 Wings span Glides up and down the floor looks the part if you just look at him I’m not a big fan of Cody Williams Because I just think he’s way too raw and I think that like you need someone who’s like actually has a chance to be good and Cody Williams has the Bloodlines for sure to do it I think he has the physicality to do it too of often in you know here this will be a clip when Cody Willams becomes an Allstar but he reminds me of Tony snout where like you know you look at him and he looks the part but like he just doesn’t make an impact on the floor now Cody Williams did have a lot of injuries this year he’s wearing a face mask for part of the year he had a hand injury and that’s tough when you’re the youngest guy on a veteran team playing in a college basketball landscape where all these guys got covid years and fifth and sixth year guys and you’re you know an 18-year-old and Cody Williams so I kind of like him I think the sales pitch on him is that he’s a really rangy NBA Wing who hit a high percentage of his threes on very low volume he his best trait to me is his finishing at The Rim he was an awesome finisher at The Rim seems to have good body control good touch attacking the basket and then just generally I guess like if you’re even a decent NBA wing with a plus Wings span who can kind of shoot those guys tend to stick around the league for a while like I’m bashing Tony Snell but Tony Snell made a ton of money in his career how many years did he play in the league eight years probably I’m just guessing this off selly cat had a very good career he had a pretty good career right but tough to look at that and say that he hit his upside or that like that’s what the Bulls needed at that moment so uh Cody Williams is not one of my favorites he may end up being a very good player and certainly Jaylen Williams is awesome like you know you’re talking about redraft in the NBA Jaylen Williams is going pretty high in that is just like such a powerfully built downhill attacking guard who can really defend uh maybe Cody Williams can get there but to me he’s just really raw and you’re going to need a more patient development and as I talk about you know the Bulls need the best long-term ceiling razor in this class like that is very much up to the eye of the beholder like someone could see Cody Williams and say this guy has a potential to be the best player in the class five years from now I don’t necessarily see that from what I’ve watched of him but I could be wrong uh maybe he is someone who could be really good long term because he does have the tools and he seems to have the touch and he has the Bloodlines so you know that that’s sort of the case for him uh circling back to the the top of the draft really in the sense of isar League U we know that projecting a player to be the best player in the league five years from now not exactly the question I’m asking but what player in this year’s draft has the potential to be the a superstar who has the potential to be the best guy in this draft 10 years from now yeah I mean my top guys in this draft are Alex SAR nicoa topic and Ron Holland so I’ll say those three guys and it’s crazy that like you know besides forar the rest of them could be there at number 11 for the Bulls because in a bad draft maybe you just want certainty and like for the Bulls I would not want them to draft dton connect who is was an awesome college player at Tennessee he turned going to be 24 years old as a rookie just because I think they need to be thinking a little bit more about the long-term future of the franchise but a team like you know the Blazers at seven or the Pistons at five could be like well we have all these young guys we need an older guy who can shoot and space the floor and like Dalton connect could fit there Dalton connect may end up being very good you know but just for what the Bulls need right now I wouldn’t take him but that’s a type of that’s an example of a player who could go higher in this draft uh than some of like the sort of the more Boomer bust long-term upside guys um just because teams might want you know in a bad draft maybe you just want to hit a single or a double instead of trying to hit a home run for me if I’m the Bulls I’m trying to hit a home run because there’s just nothing to be excited about long term outside of the development of Kobe white so uh I’ll I’ll just say like SAR I think that he is the best physical tools 71 75 wingspan switchable Defender you could sort of see him in the mold of a jiren Jackson or an Evan Mobley you know what could take him above those guys shooting he has shooting flashes that are really interesting he’s not there yet but I think he’s ahead of Mobley and maybe Jackson is a shooter at the same age he’s very young as well doesn’t turn 19 until the summer I think uh also lob threat you know could be the best defensive player in the NBA and stretch theor so you know that would be his long-term upside case I think topic I just love his Rim pressure obviously Tor ACL probably going to miss his whole rookie year I’m sure that’s exactly what Bulls fans want to hear about a future draft pick after all the injuries Bulls fans have endured recently but uh to me it’s like you know you could look at someone like Anthony Edwards and he makes like these ridiculously tough fadeaways and hard shots and say oh that’s why he’s one of the best players in the league but to me Anthony Edwards is really one of the better players in the league because of all the easy buckets he gets he can just run by you and slam on you uh and I think topic has the ability to get easy buckets because he’s so fast he’s really good out of the pick and roll and he’s got pretty good Vision but he’s more of a scorer uh so topic he has a lot of shortcomings too he’s not a very good shooter he’s a terrible Defender but you know he has that signature skill just getting into the rim that I really like so I like him as someone who could be the best player in 10 years and then Holland you you know he’s so young he’s so toolsy and what I like about him is he plays with such a hard Mo High motor he just is a psycho competitor and the best way possible someone you want to bet on to like improve in the areas of his game because he just plays 110% every time he takes the floor Great rebounder Kills it in transition and just like Wicked athleticism in terms of his first step and his leaping ability I’m working on a Ron Holland story right now uh because he seems like someone who could fall out of the lottery and to me he’s a top three player in the class so uh those are the guys who sort of look like the best long-term prospects to me so one player who is difficult to project is Zack Edy I some mocks had don’t even have in the first round some have him creeping up into the lottery um within your latest mock draft at SB Nation you have a link to your breakdown of Zack Ed’s game um and it’s fantastic we actually talked about it on the Bulls Talk podcast a few weeks ago um he’s got a lot of upside with certain parts of his game and he’s got a lot of deficiency with other parts of his game um why is Zack Edy so difficult to like slot in somewhere with where he’s going to go like why are some teams really down on him and why are some teams like really high on him and think he could a good fit well he’s 74 300 lb and that was a Barefoot measurement so he’s 75 uh and how many how many guys in the league today are that size and that big like there’s just no one like him right beyond that this guy is legitimately one of the best college basketball players ever two-time National player of the year the last person to win back-to-back National Player of the Year in men’s basketball was Ralph Samson who might be maybe a good comparison for Ed that was before I was alive uh but Samson was obviously a supernova college player and Ed obviously was as well um what’s so I went to the final four I got to speak with Zack Ed a few times talked to him in the locker room was around his press conference availability I really like Zach Ed uh what REM what is really impressive about him the dude played 40 minutes in like every game with the entire defense built around stopping him he was really the only true star on Purdue and nobody could stop him and he never came out of the game and he never got into foul trouble now I’m sure you know Illinois fans might be listening to this podcast and say Zack fouled on every play but the refs wouldn’t call it well maybe but I mean you’re 300 pbbs and you’re playing 40 minutes that’s pretty damn impressive so sales pitch on Zack Ed you know man like he was just the best statistical player like in the advanced stats in the normal stats the guy is a monster interior scorer he’s a monster offensive rebounder and if you give him the ball on the space floor he’s probably going to score over basically anyone because he’s got really good touch he’s got some decent post moves he’s an amazing you know putback guy and yeah I mean you can’t argue with his production or his talent or his accolades as a college player and I do think that like so I’ll just say I don’t want the Bulls to Draft Zack Ed at number 11 I think that would be way too high if they did draft him I would talk myself into it a little bit and say that I think you know whoever drafts him like he does have to me more Star upside than a lot of the guys projected in his range just because we haven’t really seen someone like him and most of the time that might actually be the best path to start him it’s like well you know we can’t put Nicole yic in a box like who’s Nicole yic play like we’ve never seen a guy like this he can’t be that good like everyone thought he wasn’t that good until he just won three MVP so in a championship um Ed you know the the thing that holds him back I think like beyond the obvious things which is that he’s so slow and you know a pick and pop big man I think would just totally burn him in like every instance I just don’t see how he defends the pick and pop in the NBA but what kind of limits his upside to me is he’s just not a good passer he’s not a good processor of the floor like and that’s you know jic is just like the goat at that right like he’s seeing everything before it happens Ed Reads the floor so slowly he’s more of a scorer than a playmaker like you just give it to him he can score usually uh but he’s going to have major deficiencies defensively like out of a big man in the draft I like big man who can shoot who can pass and have coverage versatility by coverage versatility I mean how can you defend the pick and roll drop play at the level of the screen Blitz hedge Ed can’t do any of those things he can’t shoot he can’t pass he has no coverage versatility but similar to topit who I mentioned earlier he his strength is a razor sharp strength which is his interior scoring and his rebounding um and he’s got a 710 Wings span so he’s just very long and is going to be able to block shots and drop coverage even without being quick so like most players in this draft he’s not well-rounded um he has strengths and weaknesses but you know he’d be an interesting pick for the bulls the bulls certainly need a center right like if I don’t think the Bulls should be drafting for need with this pick but like what’s their biggest need they could use like any type of young big man yeah and E will probably be on the board at 11 and will be someone they will probably consider I hope they don’t take him but if they do take him I’ll talk myself into it so if the Bulls were to somehow in in a perfect scenario trade into the late first round um within you know some other move perhaps a Zack LaVine trade um then that would be proba pretty good ideal situation for you if they could pick a but not 0 and they could trade into the late teens or early 20s with another pick and then um pick Edy and that that would be that would make you happy as a bulls fan sure I take Edie there’s some other guys I like too but I think Edie Ed’s got some star potential like I think he does he’s he was just too good not to he’s too big and he’s too weird in terms of his play style where I just think that all those things are uh they Point towards stard him with that being said I had Zack Ed in my here’s what I would do mock draft at like 25 he’s not last until 25 he’s going top 20 so if the Bulls want to get back in the mix to draft him you might be trading Alex Caruso you know maybe LaVine if you could get a pick there but uh yeah and I sort of do like the idea of the Bulls getting back into this draft later rather than there have been a lot of reports the Bulls want to move up I do not like the idea of the Bulls moving up in this draft uh certainly there’s Merit to it and I could see what they’re going for if they do try to do that Donovan kingan and Matas balis have been two guys that have been connected to and you could see the vision there in a sense but yeah I kind of like the idea of them getting back into the draft in the late first round if they can uh maybe going maybe you know pairing someone like Edy with a shot creator with the 11th pick If This Were 20 or 30 years ago would Ed be the consensus first overall pick probably yeah it just the gamees the game’s changed fundamentally it’s it’s he’s a he’s a star player from a different era um is that like is that just the the fundamentals of Ed’s game that you just went over um do they just not fit in today’s most NBA offenses and defenses well how about the rules like I was watching the dynasty era Bulls and the big thing you realize is the illegal defense rule which does not exist in today’s game and in that illegal defense rule like you just think like why was the Stockton and Malone pick and roll so hard to guard it’s because you had to play it Two on Two And if you tried to bring someone else over it was a legal defense it was a technical foul uh you know that that would be an issue with Ed it’s like you don’t have to play him one-on-one like you would have had to in the 90s and he can torch anyone one-on-one but the question is when the double comes can you map the floor quickly enough and get the ball out to the open shooter or can he just like score quickly enough I do think he gets off the ground really fast for a 300 PB guy and his conditioning is like legitimately amazing I think like you gotta even if you hate Zack Ed you got to respect him that was my whole thing covering college basketball this year is like this guy is an incredible incredible player uh who you know Matt payer I was talking to Matt payer at the final four he’s like yeah there’s been a lot of seven Footers in college basketball and a lot of them sucked and I just thought yeah you know Ed’s is not just big like he’s very good but in terms of the NBA I I think there’s a 10% chance or 5 per chance he could be like an All-Star level player if he is though I kind of find it hard to believe that the team will be good like I kind of find it hard to believe that he could be a great player for a great team I think he could maybe be a great player for an average team or a bad team uh but it’s just like it’s kind of tough uh given his limitations to see how he could be great for a great team in my opinion so another player you only by the way on ESP Nation you only did the first round so I’m curious about this a a player who is a lightning rod because of who he is and his last name is bronny James um there’s been numerous discussions about him only being even remotely considered to be drafted because of who his father is and the potential for LeBron to sign as a free agent uh with the team that drafts Brony uh his measurements of the combine were underwhelming certainly his height being a big part of that I think 61 and a half and Barefoot um he did decent in some of the drills walk us through your opinion of bronny James what you saw of him at the combine and where you think he should be drafted if that is drafted at all yeah uh I watched brownie a lot in high school at Sierra Canyon played with a lot of really good players there zier Williams who’s current ly on the Memphis Grizzlies Amari Bailey who’s with the Hornets uh Scotty Pippen Jr I believe he played with am I right about that or one of the Pippin so anyway uh I’ve been watching Brony for a while Brony did not have a good year on USC I thought he would coming into the year but like then he has like the heart thing that is very scary and that you know you could see how that could put someone behind in terms of their development as a young freshman coming into an older college basketball scene that you know the one we normally think like college basketball F of fifth and sixth year guy so now as a true freshman it’s hard to make an impact especially when you have a terrifying Health scare coming into the year and then by the time Brony debuted the team was already a mess at USC they had no shooting no lob threats I mean this speaks to ker who I love you know if the Bulls could draft Isaiah ker that’d be sort of a boomer bus pick I’d be all for it I’d say give me the shot creation give me the you know the potential star playmaker uh even if he can’t shoot maybe he could develop that Peter Patton baby that’s our secret weapon but in terms of Brony uh he had a bad year he’s smaller you know Inu 63 but you know I I think he should go in the second round because I think he has shooting potential I think he’ll be able to defend point guards next to like a bigger offensive initiator um and I think he’s going to shoot it so you know if you’re looking for like a bron comparison maybe like Duce McBride maybe like Javon Carter like I don’t think he’s going to be a star but I think he’s got a good role player skill set and to me it’s kind of cool that like this kid who was like born a billionaire and is the son of the second greatest player of all time uh he he’s like wired to play like Alex Caruso he wants to like dive on the floor and he wants to defend and he doesn’t want to like dribble between his legs and try to cook on offense and I just think that’s cool he plays a very eess game that is good for fitting around other highlevel players so uh is brownie going to get opportunities that he wouldn’t have gotten if his last name was Johnson instead of James absolutely and you could get mad about that if you want to and I think that’s fine but in terms of a team like betting on him well I don’t know he’s like the son of an all-time great and he’s got good athleticism and a strong chest he’s just short I mean if he was 68 like his dad it would be you know a game changer but he’s short so that’s tough to overcome he’s gonna the only only offensive path he has to being valuable is to be a really good shooter uh and he’s not yet but maybe he can get there I’ve seen him make a ton of Threes you know over his high school career so we’ll see it’s kind of like it’s tough to have a brownie debate now because like no one’s really can be normal about it everyone’s getting upset one way or another but you know was a late second round pick Lakers picked 55 out of a 60 pick draft sure why not take him and uh you know he’s got some he’s athletic he’s strong he can kind of shoot so so I can I can see a path to him having a decent NBA career all right last one for you Ricky um not draft related but specific to the Bulls and and the decisions they’re going have to make this offseason uh come July 1 uh Demar D Ro and unrestricted free agent uh Patrick Williams a restricted free agent uh what would you do with each of those players is there a threshold with P will in which you would not match if you were the Bulls if he signs an offer sheet as a restrictor free agent and is there a scenario in which you would like to see the Rosen back on this team or do you just let him walk because of uh his age and where you want where the Bulls currently are as a franchise definitely signing Pat Pat’s a frustrating player because like any athlete you know who you expect more out of them you think they could give you more and then they don’t it’s frustrating uh but Patrick William is still a pretty good role player I think I think every team in the league is looking for wings that are 67 230 PB 7 foot wing span can shoot 40% from three and can provide some versatile defense pack can play on the ball defensively he can act as a secondary rim protector he’s not going to be a star but I still think that like he could be a pretty good three and D Wing those are the type of players who make stars the best versions of themselves and I would absolutely sign him I don’t know what it would go up to but like restricted free agents normally don’t get off treats so like maybe the Thunder throw one ad him and it’s 20 $4 million a year and you’re like do we really want to pay that I have a hard time believing that’s going to happen I would just sign in before anyone else does uh what’s a fair deal I don’t know 15 15 for four years four years 60 to me that seems fair but I don’t know like I I’m not looking at Patrick Williams like this guy’s gonna be an Allstar I’m looking at him like this guy can just be a good piece also he’s 22 so if you just like game it out like age 23 24 25 26 those be the best season of his career he’s gotten tons of experience he’s younger than Dalton connect who’s just going to be starting his career now in the NBA as a rookie coming out of Tennessee uh and so I like Patrick Williams also the Bulls defense tanked once Patrick Williams got hurt when he was on the floor I believe his last game played was at the end of January you would probably know this better than I Kevin but I believe the Bulls I looked this up from my own podcast the Bulls were rank 15th in defensive efficiency when he got hurt and by the end of the year they were like 26 or they were 26th or 27th in the terms of the time he was out so petrick William is a really good Defender and he can hit an open three and I think that’s a valuable player I am signing him I’m not worried about the money the Bulls have so much dead money on their books as it is like give me a young guy and yeah so then dear uh it’s tough I love dear with that being said the Bulls need to raise their long-term ceiling that’s not happening with dear my ideal would be to sign and trade him somewhere to get some assets and you know for the Bulls I think you got to try to keep that 2025 pick it’s a much better draft it’s top eight protected there’s no path to me where the Bulls are going to like add 10 more wins as Urus said in his end of season press conference oh we need 10 more wins it’s like well guess what arturus you just got 10 bogus wins from your clutch play it’s never going to happen again that was one the best clutch teams in the history of the NBA best clutch team ever you’re 20 24 Chicago Bulls who won 39 games so even if you win 10 more games legitimately like you’re still going to win 38 games so I’m signing and trading dear I’m telling him dear I love you you are amazing you were so much fun to watch I respect his game so much but I just don’t see a path where like the Bulls are building a good team with Demar still on the team so sign and trade him and you know this is one thing I have to end this with a little rant that I’ve been thinking about watching the Boston Celtics win the NBA championship or they’re about to seemingly one of the lessons from the Celtics Championship run I think is that you cannot hold on to your guys too long this Boston Celtics run started by trading Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett two players who led the Celtics to the championship in their Heyday they traded them when you know Celtics were still a decent team maybe they could have recaptured their Old Glory one more time but nah they got rid of them while they sld a little bit of juice left those trades led to the Celtics getting Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown and building this great team next to him so I think the Bulls are already starting way behind with their inactivity at the trade deadline the last three seasons with their inability to really do anything in free agency outside of signing uh minimum contracts for these guys and you know you can’t hold on to your guys too long so if you could trade Caruso I mean that should have been done years ago if you could trade and I love so he’s amazing he’s so much fun to watch but the team can’t go anywhere with him and same thing with dear love him such a good player I have so much respect for him give them a chance to win like that’s what I would like to see as a fan of those guys personally like they’re not winning in Chicago so sign and trade dear trade Caruso try to keep the 2025 pick draft a high upside guy uh I’d swing for the fenes with the with this 11th pick like if you draft a bust who cares they always draft a bust so uh you know I at least get someone who has the potential to maybe be a franchise player moving forward and I’m trying to get Cooper flag in 2025 I’m trying to get Cameron Boozer in 20126 and I’m trying to build the Bulls up to be actually competitive which to me means competing to be one of the best to be the best team in the conference that’s to me what competitive means I don’t think it means we’re the eighth best team in the JV conference which is the East and the East stinks and it’s it’s been stinky for 20 years you know since MJ retired there’s always an opportunity in the East but it just shows that like you can’t just put your head down and run face first into a wall all the time because that’s not the way you can actually have upward mobility and try to build a team that’s actually competitive instead of fake competitive so yeah I’m saying dear I love you but sign and trade Caruso later and then give me Ron Holland nicool toic or Isaiah ker with this number 11 pick and let’s start this rebuild and let’s get some assets for the guys currently on the roster and let’s try to Envision a brighter future for the best fan base in the NBA in the Chicago Bulls we sell out every game no matter what um the business might be a success but the product on the floor is not so I think you know it’s time for the Bulls to face reality and get on with the next iteration of this great franchise this is uh the most optimism I’ve heard and seen from you in quite some time you may have to change your Twitter handle to C red Ricky um if that’s optimistic then it is it is given the situation right that we’re in right now uh yeah and let’s uh get Phoenix Gill in 2028 who uh sure by the by the way who just committed the Northwestern so go cat for the son of Kendall uh by the way KY Johnson would completely agree with you with the approach of depreciated assets and how you cannot hold on to your players too long the Boston comparison is uh is very apt in that situation uh rookie O’Donnell is your guide at Nation covering the NBA draft College scouting and apparently the NFL now so please uh check out his work and also you can find him on Twitter xbn _ Ricky um he does a fantastic job a good friend of the program here at the Bulls Talk podcast and certainly um does excellent work uh so please over if you’re at all remotely interested in the NBA draft um how often do you do mock drafts between now and and the end of in the of June when the draft is do you there’s really not much updating to really make is there yeah I gotta get creative and that’s why I was like well here’s what I would do with every pick and then I’ll do a couple more draft is in 15 days I’m trying to do some profiles on some players in this class trying to talk to Ron Hollands high school and college coaches I got a good story idea I want to do on him cut up a bunch of film trying to write on Devin Carter who I think is a really interesting player could be a Chicago Bull at number 11 he’d be a good pick I think uh and yeah couple more Macks for sure too we’ll see how creative I can get so check out those profiles in the next couple weeks at s SP Nation so for Ricky O’Donnell I’m Kevin Anderson this has been the Bulls Talk podcast brought to you by Toyota Let’s Go Places thank you for listening and watching on YouTube and leaving a comment like And subscribe we appreciate every time and everybody who watches and listens the show thanks for listening everybody go balls all right now that’s over I want to tell you the three keys to being a real Chicago sports fan it takes guts sacrifice and downloading the NBC Sport Chicago app when there’s highlights you can pounce on them when there’s exclusive insights you listen and take notes and you won’t get blindsided with the push alerts so download it

Join Kevin Anderson on the Bulls Talk Podcast as he welcomes Ricky O’Donnell, writer, editor, and associate director of programming at SBNation, for a deep dive into the upcoming NBA draft. They kick things off by discussing the overall talent pool, noting that while the draft lacks top-tier talent, it boasts considerable depth (1:34). They debate whether critics are too harsh or if the draft truly lacks star power (3:15). The duo also analyzes why Tyler Smith is the Bulls’ best option at the 11th pick (14:48). They list other potential targets for the Bulls (16:12), and question the merits of Cody Williams (19:40). Ricky projects the best player of this draft (22:39) and assesses Zach Edey’s potential in the NBA, cautioning against the Bulls selecting him (27:00) and debate the futures of Patrick Williams and DeMar DeRozan with the Bulls (39:10).

#ChicagoBulls #NBADraft #TylerSmith #ZachEdey

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