No lottery luck for Bulls; Spurs win Wembanyama sweepstakes
David Robinson, Tim Duncan and now Victor Wembanyama. Another coveted big man will be playing in San Antonio.
The Spurs won the top pick at Tuesday's NBA Draft lottery at McCormick Place and will no doubt select the 7-foot-4 French star.
Charlotte, Portland, Houston and Detroit round out the top five picks.
The Bulls' hopes ended quickly and quietly. Their pick didn't move from No. 11, which means it will be sent to Orlando to complete the Nikola Vucevic trade. The Magic also has its own pick at No. 6.
The Bulls had a 1.8% chance to land the top pick and 8.5% to move into the top four. Unless something unexpected happens, the Bulls won't have any draft picks this year. Their own second-rounder went to Washington in the Otto Porter Jr. trade and a Denver second-rounder they got in the Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade was forfeited as punishment for tampering with Lonzo Ball in 2021.
The lead-up to the lottery was comical as ESPN stirred up the Wembanyama hype on full blast. Analyst Adrian Wojnarowski called Wembanyama the greatest NBA draft prospect ever and placed him in consideration for the greatest in any team sport ever. Doesn't hockey's Connor Bedard already have that title?
The network conveniently ignored decades of evidence that there are diminishing returns with height. Wembanyama is uniquely skilled and may turn out to be a great NBA player, but he also has plenty in common with Ralph Sampson, Kristaps Porzingis and Chet Holmgren.
The NBA is incredibly physical, especially for big men, and it remains to be seen how Wembanyama will hold up. He could end up being a taller version of Kevin Durant, in theory, but shot just 28% from 3-point range for French team Metropolitans this season. Wembanyama did produce 37 points, 5 blocks and hit 7 of 11 3-pointers in an exhibition against G-League Ignite last October, so the ceiling is definitely high.
Here's an early look at a lottery mock draft:
San Antonio: Victor Wembanyama, C, Metropolitans 92
Charlotte: Brandon Miller, SF, Alabama
Portland: Scoot Henderson, PG, G-League Ignite
Houston: Amen Thompson, SF, Overtime Elite
Detroit: Cam Whitmore, SF, Villanova
Orlando: Anthony Black, PG, Arkansas
Indiana: Ausar Thompson, PF, Overtime Elite
Washington: Jarace Walker, PF, Houston
Utah: Taylor Hendricks, PF, UCF
Dallas: Gradey Dick, SF, Kansas
Orlando: Jordan Hawkins, SG, Connecticut
Oklahoma City: Cason Wallace, PG, Kentucky
Toronto: Nick Smith Jr., SG, Arkansas
New Orleans: Keyonte George, SG, Baylor
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports