Bulls trade down in second round, take Australian forward

Posted June 26, 2025 9:40 pm

Mike McGraw

After trading down in the second round of the NBA draft, the Bulls landed 6-foot-9 Australian forward Lachlan Olbrich on Thursday.

Olbrich, 21, averaged 8.4 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Illawarra Hawks, while the team won an NBL championship last season. He spent a year in college at UC-Riverside in 2022-23 and was named Big West freshman of the year.

Earlier in the day, the Bulls sent the No. 45 overall pick to the Lakers for No. 55 and cash. The Lakers took Australian center Rokko Zikarsky.

Whether Olbrich is on the Bulls' roster next season remains to be seen. Assuming the Bulls re-sign restricted free agent Josh Giddey this summer, they have 14 players under contract, including first-rounder Noa Essengue, and just one open roster spot.

Tre Jones and Talen Horton-Tucker are the only other players from last year's team without contracts for next season. They could open another roster spot by buying out the final year of Jevon Carter's deal.

It's possible the Bulls could try to sign Olbrich to a two-way contract — a common practice with second-rounders — so he wouldn't count on the 15-man roster.

Northwestern forward Brooks Barnhizer was chosen with the No. 44 overall pick by Oklahoma City.

UC Riverside's Lachlan Olbrich (30) drives to the lane against Creighton's Trey Alexander (23) during an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson) AP

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