The Chicago Bulls are getting all their ducks in a row with the NBA draft almost at hand. Plenty of rumors have been floating around, from them trading up to #1 to trading down to collect more immediate help. Perhaps one of the most interesting ones to pop up in the past week was that Caleb Wilson, the athletic forward out of North Carolina, had not worked out with the team and had no plans to do so. This was surprising since most experts project him as the selection of Chicago with their 4th overall pick.
If true, this carried serious implications. Many feel there is a considerable drop-off in talent after the top four prospects, including Wilson. What would the Bulls do if he didn’t want to come to Chicago? Do they draft him anyway or look for alternatives? Well, it doesn’t matter. It turns out this rumor was wildly off base. According to ESPN, Wilson will work out for the Bulls this week ahead of the draft. Not only that, but he is plenty excited about the idea of playing in Chicago if they do end up picking him.
“Moving up in the lottery (from No. 9) made life quite a bit easier for Chicago’s new leadership, led by Bryson Graham. Wilson remains the most likely player to fall to the Bulls, who can sit comfortably at No. 4 and see what unfolds in front of them. He is set to visit Chicago this week and is thought to be happy at the prospect of landing there, where he would immediately become the face of their rebuild and directly address a frontcourt need.”
That Caleb Wilson rumor never made much sense.
For one, the Bulls have every reason to work out each of the top prospects in this class. There is at least a small possibility that each of them could fall to #4 overall. There was no way they’d ignore bringing in Wilson. Conversely, there’s been zero indication that the young prospect has any specific desires going into this draft. This isn’t an Ace Bailey situation from last year, when he preferred to get drafted by the Washington Wizards. The Utah Jazz took him anyway. No such hints have come from Wilson’s camp.
It isn’t surprising. His reputation throughout college was that of a team-oriented player. He’s not afraid to make sacrifices and play defense if it helps win games. That is part of his appeal. Aside from that, his mixture of size, length, and athleticism is all the things Bulls VP of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham covets. There is a reason this pick is so easy to project. To say nothing of his UNC ties. That college has been very good to Chicago in years past.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
If nothing else, Chicago will be prepared.
Despite how much of a whirlwind the past couple of months have been, Graham seems to have a strong idea of how he wants to approach this draft. The first stage will be getting one of the top four, whether it’s Caleb Wilson or Cameron Boozer. Then it’s expected he will target a top guard with the 15th overall pick. From there, the burden falls on new head coach Tiago Splitter to develop the young men into the best NBA players possible. Nobody has to say how important this draft is.
When the Bulls took Patrick Williams 4th overall in 2020, it set the franchise back for years. This is a rare opportunity for them to finally get back into the Eastern Conference picture. There is no LeBron James gatekeeping anymore. It is a fairly balanced outlook at the moment. If Chicago can put together a strong core in the next couple of years, it might have a chance to make serious noise. Maybe it all starts with Wilson. We’ll soon find out just under a week from now.
