‘Responsibility to win’: Donovan supports Bulls’ approach to ‘25 draft pick
This issue was bound to come up Monday, since the San Antonio Spurs and 7-foot-3 sensation Victor Wembanyama were at the United Center to face the Bulls.
If the Bulls aren't bad enough to land a top-10 draft pick, their 2025 selection goes to the Spurs to complete the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade of 2021. If that happens, the Bulls still owe San Antonio a pick in '26 or sometime in the future.
The Spurs helped their cause by squandering a 19-point deficit and losing 114-110. The Bulls took their first lead of the night on a Coby White scoop shot past Wembanyama with 47.1 seconds left. After a Spurs turnover, White drove the lane again and threw down a dunk before the Spurs big man could slide over to contest with 15.9 seconds remaining.
Zach LaVine scored 35 points, Nikola Vucevic added 24 and White finished with 23. The Bulls outscored the Spurs 32-15 in the fourth quarter and finished with an 11-0 run.
At the start of Monday's action, the Bulls (17-19) had the NBA's 10th-worst record, but are trying to move up, not down. Before the game, coach Billy Donovan said he likes it that way.
“There have been conversations with ownership and the front office that I have been a part of,” Donovan said. “Those conversations have always been, 'There is a responsibility (to try to win).' And I appreciate that as a head coach.”
There's no reason to treat next year's first-round pick like it's some sort of magical ticket to the next Bulls dynasty. Yeah, there's a microscopic chance it could be, but getting good in the NBA is all about luck.
The Bulls could do well in the draft lottery, select Cooper Flagg or whoever, and win five championships. That is within the realm of possibilities. So is tanking to get the ninth-worst record, then having two other teams pass the Bulls in the lottery and giving up the pick after all.
Take a look at recent NBA champions: Boston's big break was Brooklyn giving up multiple unprotected picks for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce years ago. The Celtics turned that into Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Denver is good because second-round pick Nikola Jokic blossomed into a three-time MVP.
Milwaukee getting Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in 2013; the Lakers landing LeBron James as a free agent, then trading for Anthony Davis; the Warriors finding the Splash Brothers with the No. 7 and 11 overall picks.
Tanking, winning the lottery and landing a great No. 1 overall pick like Wembanyama or Minnesota's Anthony Edwards is one path, but not a common one to winning an NBA title.
Trying to lose can also create a team of losers, which is what happened the last two times the Bulls tried to tank. They are better off trying to win.
The most direct path to the Bulls moving up in the standings is developing their young players. Then if a superstar player comes on the market, they'll have the tradable assets and future draft picks to try to make it happen.
“I do think my responsibility and our staff's responsibility is to try to develop guys,” Donovan said. “But I think just rolling guys out there and giving them hand-given minutes without them being responsible … is not great.”
Donovan used rookie Matas Buzelis as an example of a guy who has done well at times, but is still learning. Dalen Terry, Julian Phillips and Jalen Smith are in the same category, not to mention White, Patrick Williams and Josh Giddey. All seven of those players mentioned are 24 or younger.
“The conversations I've had with the roster and the team and where we're at right now — and I appreciate this — I'm not being directed at all,” Donovan said. “'Billy, you've got to play this guy and this guy.' — that's not happening and I appreciate that.
“No one's saying to me, 'Hey listen, wait a second with this draft pick, right now, we need to make sure …' It's been always the integrity of competition, and I appreciate that.”
Wembanyama added plenty of value to the Spurs on Monday, finishing with 23 points, 14 rebounds an 8 blocks. Early in this game, they were afraid to challenge Wembanyama near the rim and didn't shoot well from long range.
The Bulls got back in it in the second half when White, LaVine, Williams and others went to the rim and scored. The loudest cheer of the night (besides the Dunkin' Donuts race) was when center Nikola Vucevic successfully scored over Wembanyama in the post.