With the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery in the rearview, the first-round order is sorted.
The Chicago Bulls entered the event with a 4.5% chance at the top pick, but a 20.3% shot at gaining a spot in the top four. Fortunately, the Bulls didn’t end up in a shocking scenario by winning the lottery, but they jumped up into the top five with the fourth-overall pick.
After finally having a fire sale months ago, the Bulls can kickstart the rebuild with a high-end draft pick.
2026 NBA Mock Draft Gives The Bulls A UNC Star
In the first post-lottery mock draft from Bleacher Report, the Bulls see AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer go off the board as the top three picks.
With No. 4, BR’s Jonathan Wasserman has the Bulls taking a chance on the University of North Carolina star, Caleb Wilson.
“Caleb Wilson should look like an easy plug-and-play forward for the Chicago Bulls at the 4. They could now have versatile, frontcourt cornerstones in Wilson and Matas Buzelis to build around.
There are even NBA front office members who actually prefer Wilson to Cameron Boozer, whose athletic limitations have raised some skepticism. Certain scouts sound willing to bet on Wilson’s open-floor ball-handling, shotmaking flashes and passing continuing to improve to complement the quickness, explosion and defensive range that Boozer lacks.” via BR
The 19-year-old out of Atlanta, Georgia, was recognized as a top-five recruit in his class by most major platforms.
Wilson had interest from most major NCAA programs, and ultimately chose UNC, where he expectedly spent just one season before declaring for the draft.
With the Tar Heels, Wilson started all 24 games. He averaged 31.3 minutes on the court. Wilson shot 57.8% from the field and hit on 25.9% of his threes.
The freshman posted 19.8 points per game, along with 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. With the Bulls, Wilson would get a chance to be an instant starter, which is an ideal scenario for a player getting selected that high.
Early Look At Chicago’s 2026-2027 Roster
The Bulls currently have six players on guaranteed salaries for the 2026-2027 NBA season. Josh Giddey, Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, Jalen Smith, Tre Jones, and Noa Essengue are under contract.
The Bulls have three players with team options: Rob Dillingham ($6.8 million), Matas Buzelis ($5.7 million), and Leonard Miller ($2.4 million). Dillingham and Buzelis had their options picked up.