It’s a vague term that sports executives love to throw around come draft time.
“Best player available.’’
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas isn’t above that.
After the franchise hit lottery paydirt last week, moving up from a projected No. 7 spot to the No. 4, Karnisovas talked draft strategy without actually giving away the strategy part.
The ultimate showing of basketball ops-speak, and dang right “best player available’’ was part of his vernacular.
“Obviously, I’ve never picked that high as well [back in Denver],’’ Karnisovas said. “So I’ll let it always play out. We’re doing a bunch of rankings. By the time the draft comes, we’ll have our draft board and a lot of opinions. Then minimize the noise and pick the player that’s best available on the board. So that’s going to be the strategy.
“A bunch of things happen in the draft. You’re going to move up. You’re going to move down. Who knows? There’s going to be a lot of conversations with other teams.’’
And then after the pick is made there’s going to be some hard conversations with his current team.
This 2020 first-round draft pick is more than just another piece to the rebuild. It’s letting the existing foundation of this rebuild know exactly what the new regime thinks of it. The ultimate showing of the hand.
The Safe Route
With Otto Porter Jr. expected to opt in at $28.5 million for the 2020-21 season, the small forward will be playing for his next contract. A contract that undoubtedly won’t be with the Bulls.
The depth at small forward has been an issue since Jimmy Butler was traded in 2017, and former first-round pick Chandler Hutchison has shown very little in easing the concerns with that position.
That’s why picking a Deni Avdija or Isaac Okoro would result in the fewest waves to the current roster.
Both are small forwards — obviously with different strengths — and would be groomed to take over when Porter leaves.
Okoro is considered the best perimeter defender in the draft, while Avdija is more of the international man of mystery, showing MVP ability in the Israeli League this past season.
It should be a smooth transition with either of the two, however.
Because of his ability to play either forward spot, Obi Toppin could be the pick, with a skillset that allows him to play alongside either Wendell Carter Jr. or Lauri Markkanen. Plus, if the Markkanen contract extension talks don’t go well, the Bulls can simply wait until Markkanen becomes a restricted free agent in 2021, see where Toppin is by then, and weigh his ceiling against what the market sets for Markkanen.
Message Sent
Zach LaVine has two more seasons on his current contract, but can get a three-year, $76 million extension as early as October. The drafting of two-guard Anthony Edwards, however, would let LaVine know his days might be numbered.
It could even lead to a LaVine trade in the next two seasons.
Big Pick
Carter wants more playing time at the four, and the drafting of the 7-foot James Wiseman could give him that.
The domino effect of that would be Carter and Markkanen then having to compete for minutes at that power forward spot, allowing the Bulls to get a real assessment of which of the two is smarter for the foundation moving forward.
With possibly $50 million in cap space for the highly-publicized 2021 free agent class, the Bulls need to know who they have as a selling point to try and attract superstar talent.
Point of Contention
Kris Dunn will be a restricted free agent, while rookie Coby White still has to show he has point guard skills, starting with court vision.
But what if the Bulls draft a LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton or Killian Hayes? Ball is a pure point guard, while Haliburton and Hayes can also play off the ball. Any one of the three would likely close the book on Dunn’s time as a Bull, and put White in compete mode.