Bad luck in the lottery for the Chicago Bulls, who won’t have a 1st round pick in this year’s NBA Draft – The Denver Post

The odds did not fall in favor of the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night in the NBA Draft Lottery at McCormick Place.

The Bulls didn’t land a top-four pick — and as a result, they won’t have a first-round pick at all this year. They must give up their first-round selection — which ended up being No. 11 — to the Orlando Magic as a final stipulation in the 2021 trade for center Nikola Vučević. The pick was among the top four protected in this year’s draft.

The San Antonio Spurs were handed the No. 1 pick, which they will almost certainly use on highly touted French prospect Victor Wembanyama.

The odds were never in the Bulls’ favor – they only had a 2.5% chance of landing the No. 4 pick, 2.21% chance of being No. 3, 1.98% chance of 2 and a 1.8% chance of getting the #4 pick. The best pick.

The structure of the draft lottery created a wide chasm between victory and defeat for the Bulls. They could not be given a choice between No. 5 and No. 10, limiting them to either a shot on a top prospect such as Wembanyama, Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson, or giving up their pick to the Magic.

The Bulls have time to come back in the first round, but their commercial capital is limited, especially due to the continued uncertainty surrounding Lonzo Ball’s knee injury.

Guard Dalen Terry represented the Bulls on stage during the lottery. Newly inaugurated Mayor Brandon Johnson was also present and spoke with Commissioner Adam Silver and other NBA officials ahead of the lottery.

After picks #6-14 remained in order, the lottery produced some unexpected results. The Detroit Pistons – who were tied for the best odds at the No. 1 pick with the Spurs and Houston Rockets – fell to the top four, while the Portland Trail Blazers fell from No. 5 to No. 3 and the Charlotte Hornets from No. 4 to No. 2.

But it was Spurs who took home the ultimate bounty, immediately drawing enthusiastic cheers from their front office representatives in attendance.

“Our future was already bright,” said managing partner Peter J. Holt. “Now it’s going to be across the moon.”

This is the third time Spurs have won the lottery. They picked Hall of Famers David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. Now at Wembanyama they have the chance to select a 19-year-old touted as a generational talent in the making.

The 7ft 3in Wembanyama, who plays for the 92 Metropolitans in his native France, has been seen throughout the past year as a lock to be the first choice. He turned professional in 2020 and leads the French league this season in scoring (21.6 ppg), rebounding (10.5 rpg) and blocking (3.1 per game) while averaging 2.5 assists .

“I’m trying to win a ring as soon as possible,” Wembanyama said on ESPN after the lottery results. “So be ready.”

The NBA draft will take place on June 22 in New York.

Associated Press contributed.

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