Fourteenth

Has it really been over a month since I last blogged?  Look, don't blame me for the team I write about for missing the playoffs and not doing anything meaningful in the time since.  The only thing that made any waves was the imminent departure of Benny the Bull's performer.  Luckily, something more notable has finally happened.

Jimmy Butler was sent to represent the Bulls in Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, blue suit and all.  But there was little chance the team would move beyond the 14th position, which is exactly what happened.  The Sacramento Kings retained the eighth position, meaning their pick will not go to the Bulls this year.  In fact, the entire board held true to form, so the Philadelphia 76ers get to select first, likely either LSU's Ben Simmons or Duke's Brandon Ingram.

With the Bulls right on the border of the lottery selections, the likely remaining field isn't impressive for the most part compared to the cream of the crop.  NBADraft.net currently has them taking Malik Beasley, a 6-5 guard out of Florida State who was one of the top freshman scorers in the ACC this year.  USA Today projects them taking Notre Dame guard Demetrius Jackson, who would provide support for Derrick Rose at point guard after the Bulls didn't get it last year due to getting Bobby Portis.  DraftExpress sees them selecting Timothe Luwawu from France who has played both guard and forward in the Serbian League.

If the Bulls really wanted to, they could try and trade up to get Providence's Kris Dunn or Oklahoma's Buddy Hield.  They would probably have to trade too much in return though.  Or they don't have the assets to pull off such a huge deal.  But I'm not a general manager, so I'll just leave up to the professionals.

That we're even talking about this under the circumstances shows the dire state the Bulls are in.  Short of having the same luck they did in 2008 when they got the top pick and selected Rose, they weren't going to be celebrating the lottery's results.  Meanwhile, it's a reminder that every fan has a right to be disenchanted by what they've become.  Of the five major teams in Chicago, they're the furthest away from competing for a championship.

Stranger things have happened though, so don't rule out any craziness that would suddenly make everyone interested in this team again.  It's difficult to predict right now, but what they have going for them is that they've been far from boring this decade.  They tend to grab headlines frequently.  Hopefully, the next one is for all the right reasons.

On a side note, I speculated for a few weeks on what would happen if either Gar Forman or John Paxson represented the Bulls and Tom Thibodeau represented the Minnesota Timberwolves.  It would be even funnier if those two were assigned to seat next to each other.  I know that whole thing was just a pipe dream, but it was fun to imagine.  Hey, you gotta make your own fun in these trying times.