Chicago Bulls confirmed to have two 1st round picks in 2026 NBA draft as lottery draws near

With the NBA playoffs now in full swing, Chicago has been forced to watch from the sidelines. Much of the offseason so far has been devoted to Chicago’s coaching staff being dismantled, but with the draft lottery just around the corner, the Bulls scouting and management team need to start focusing on draft night.

The Bulls are in dire need of a new star to kick-start the stuttering franchise, but with one of the lowest wage bills in the NBA to play with, and some reasonable draft capital to play with, fans, and those that bet on sports, might have to start looking at the Bulls as a team to watch in the coming seasons if they build right this offseason.

Chicago Bulls now confirmed to have two 1st round draft picks

Since the lottery tie-breakers were decided earlier this month, and since the Portland Trailblazers have made it through the play-in and dropped out of the draft lottery, the Chicago Bulls now have two confirmed picks in the first round. The first, the 9th pick, is still subject to the lottery and could rise or drop. It’s very unlikely to drop below the 11th pick, and has a 20.3% chance of jumping into the top 4, which is one of the best selections of talent the draft has had in years, and a 4.5% chance of jumping all the way to the #1 pick. It’s more than twice the chance that the Dallas Mavericks had before they jumped to the #1 pick in the 2025 that led to the drafting of Cooper Flagg

Their second pick of the first round comes courtesy of the Portland Trailblazers, which comes from the trade that sent Lauri Markinnen to the Utah Jazz. It gives the Chicago Bulls the best-case scenario, as they hold the first pick beyond the draft.

Who will the Chicago Bulls draft?

The Chicago Bulls have plenty of holes to fill in their roster, but they have two major issues that need to be addressed. The first is a primary facilitator to assist Josh Giddey in the backcourt ideally a guard with strong shooting and good defensive skills. Darryn Peterson is the best guard in the class, but the Bulls will miss out on him unless they jump up in the draft. Players in the mid-lottery range to target include Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., and Brayden Burries of Arizona.

Their second issue to fill is a quality rim protector. Again, the best in the class at this skill is probably Caleb Wilson of UNC, but he’ll likely be off the board by the time Chicago pick, unless they jump up the lottery. Aday Mara is likely to be picked somewhere in the mid-to-low lottery, and is arguably the best rim protector in the draft with his 7’7” wingspan. Allen Graves is a great defensive piece, currently going in the low lottery on most mock drafts, and then there’s Jayden Quitance, who’s ACL injury has stopped him from going high in the draft but has arguably the best defensive skillset in the draft.

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