Bulls land No. 11 overall pick in 2024 NBA Draft
In this file photo, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announces that the Chicago Bulls pick in the draft during the NBA draft lottery in 2016.
Julie Jacobson/AP
The 2013 NBA Draft Class wasn’t the disaster it was made out to be.
Not when it produced future Hall of Famers like Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was selected No. 15 overall, and Rudy Gobert grabbed at No. 27.
It just wasn’t star-laden at the top.
So while eventual bust Anthony Bennett went No. 1 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was a draft about teams not only scouting well and hitting on picks late, but then having a system in place to develop that raw talent.
The Chicago Bulls are about to be tested in that department yet again.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas & Co. came into Sunday afternoon’s draft lottery with a 77.6% chance to stay at No. 11, and that’s exactly how the balls bounced. That means the Bulls will pick 11th on June 26, as the draft has expanded to a two-day event this year.
Unfortunately for Karnisovas, he does not have a second-round selection, at least for now.
The Bulls did have a 2% chance to land No. 1, as well as a 9.4% chance to land in the top four, but that might not necessarily be a bad miss for the franchise, especially with more questions than answers in the top five of the class.
The Atlanta Hawks drew the No. 1 pick. The Hawks, who has never drafted first, had a 3% chance of winning the top pick.
The Washington Wizards will have the second pick, followed by the Houston Rockets , who will pick No. 3 and the Spurs will have the No. 4 pick.
Alexandre Sarr could be the first overall pick, but even that is debatable with Nikola Topic, Zaccharie Risacher, Donovan Clingan and Reed Sheppard all in the mix. Good news for the Bulls, who could easily hit a gem at No. 11 while teams in the top five swing and miss.
Either way, this is an important first step in a telltale offseason for Karnisovas, as he finally admitted last month that his plan of continuity with his “big three” of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic has been a failure.
“This group, something doesn’t work,” Karnisovas said. “I have to find ways to find a group that’s going to make improvements. We’ve done it for a couple years now and it hasn’t worked. Everything is on the table.”