Arturas Karnisovas may not want to admit it, but the Chicago Bulls sure look the part of a rebuilding team. Not only did they part ways with their best offensive weapon at the NBA trade deadline, but they have comfortably been one of the NBA’s worst teams since mid-January.
The Bulls have won only four of their 15 games since January 12, and they have held the league’s third-worst net rating over this stretch at -7.7. As fun as it’s been to watch the youngsters take the reins, things have only looked worse over the last handful of games. The team has held a -26.0 point differential in the second half of their last two contests, as both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors used their superstardom to run Chicago off the floor. Without LaVine to match buckets, there is a high likelihood that these second-half collapses remain a big problem for Chicago down the stretch.
Nevertheless, there is a silver lining. The Bulls are a team in desperate need of high-upside talent, and their play over the last month has only helped improve their chances of hitting big in this upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. While they may still sit as 10th in the Eastern Conference, they have watched their lottery odds boosted thanks to the play of the Trail Blazers.
Portland is shockingly 10-5 over their last 15 games, moving to 23-30 and ahead of Chicago in the overall league standings. This puts the Bulls 8th in the lottery order, which means they went from having a 4.5 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick to a 6.0 percent chance. Even more noteworthy, they have a 26.3 percent chance to finish in the Top 4, whereas that probability is 20.3 percent in the No. 9 spot.
Considering Portland is only 1.0 game better than Chicago, there is always a chance these two trade places again. But the Trail Blazers genuinely have been playing good basketball as of late, and I have to imagine the organization is happy with it. This is a franchise that has been in rebuild mode for multiple seasons. While another high pick would be nice, they are likely happy to see their young core of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan stringing together wins.
The Bulls should be hoping that the Trail Blazers continue to ride that wave, and they would also love to see Philly grab their surfboard sooner rather than later. The 76ers are 2.0 games worse than the Bulls, meaning they are currently seventh in the lottery order. Nonetheless, have every reason to push for the Play-In Tournament with their veteran roster. They represent probably the only other team the Bulls could leapfrog for better odds, as the Top 6 have at least a 4.5-game cushion and zero incentive to stack wins. If the Bulls managed to do this, it would also officially take them out of the Play-In Tournament picture in the East and remove any risk of losing a lottery pick altogether by stealing the No. 8 seed.
If the Bulls were to swap with the 76ers, they would have a 7.5 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick and a 32.0 percent chance at a top 4 selection. The Bulls have two games left on the calendar this season with Philly, so both could hold significant lottery implications. And, yes, I know all these ratios may seem like marginal upgrades, but every percentage point matters when we’re talking about the draft. We all know the Bulls need any help they can get!
Chicago Bulls Lottery Standings
Washington Wizards (9-43) – 14.0% New Orleans Pelicans (12-40) – 14.0% Utah Jazz (12-39) – 14.0% Charlotte Hornets (13-37) – 12.4% Toronto Raptors (16-37) – 10.5% Brooklyn Nets (18-34) – 9.0% Philadelphia 76ers (20-32) – 7.5% Chicago Bulls (22-31) – 6.0% Portland Trail Blazers (23-30) – 4.5% San Antonio Spurs (22-28) – 3.0% Atlanta Hawks (25-28) – 2.0% Phoenix Suns (26-26) – 1.0% Sacramento Kings (26-26) – 1.0% Golden State Warriors (26-26) – 1.0%Lottery odds via Tankathon.
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