The Least Talked About, Most Important Story For The Chicago Bulls Down The Stretch

The two highest-priority tickets for the remainder of the Chicago Bulls’ regular season are to keep losing games and improve their draft odds for the 2026 NBA Draft, and to fully unleash the roster’s youngest players to maximize development opportunities. A few nights ago, extending their losing streak to 10 games and watching Matas Buzelis drop a career-high 32 points was the perfect example. Since the franchise knows what it has in Josh Giddey and Buzelis, the focus should shift to what the newcomers can contribute to the future of a rebuilding organization. Names like Jaden Ivey, Rob Dillingham, Anfernee Simons, and Leonard Miller should be thoroughly vetted to narrow down who is worthy of long-term investments and who will be playing their final stretch with the team. Recently, with the surging of one Western Conference team, there’s a third important storyline to follow, and potentially franchise-altering additive that could turn Chicago’s entire offseason around.

Big Portland Trail Blazers Fans

In 2021, when the Bulls shipped off Lauri Markkanen as part of a three-team deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago was granted a protected first-round draft pick from Portland. This pick is top-14 protected, has been for several years, and won’t be possessed by Arturas Karnisovas’s group until the Blazers find themselves selecting between 15 and 30 in the first round of one of the next three NBA Drafts. Led by first-time All-Star Deni Avdija, Portland is currently ninth in the Western Conference standings and is pacing to qualify for the play-in tournament after the regular season concludes. If they’re able to sneak their way into the final eight slots out West and qualify for the postseason, Chicago would add another first-round pick to their artillery.

With the Trail Blazers in town tonight, @KCJHoop reminds you that Portland owes the Bulls a lottery-protected pick

Currently 9th in the West, if Portland makes the playoffs, their first round pick will convey to the Bulls this year pic.twitter.com/rwtuAs1p7Y

— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) February 26, 2026

As CHSN’s K.C. Johnson details, Bulls fans should be rooting for Portland to win out and Chicago to lose out, which, in a perfect world, would result in Karnisovas having one first-round pick between 15 and 20, and one in the top-ten.

Find Out Leonard Miller’s Value

Miller was a long-shot prospect added in as a sweetener in the Ayo Dosunmu for Rob Dillingham swap a few weeks ago. At only 22 years old and having no real body of work in his three seasons at the NBA level, the verdict is still out on whether or not he’s a long-term asset or a revolving door trade addition. With injuries to Jalen Smith, Zach Collins, and recently Patrick Williams, now is the time to maximize his minutes and see what the kid has to offer. He’s appeared in only 53 games at the professional level, and since he’s under club control for the next two seasons, Chicago needs to determine his future outlook. As a much cheaper and more athletic version of Williams, fans would not be opposed to letting the former Florida State Seminole walk in favor of the newcomer.

Leonard Miller is one of the more intriguing long-term bets in the NBA, and had he been in the 2024 class he would have been a top 5 pick. Not too many 6'11 forward-big hybrids with his ball-skills, touch, and motor on the glass. pic.twitter.com/Nzngx4F2iw

— Trell (@TrellInterlude) June 23, 2024

Bulls fans should be excited at the prospect of gaining a second first-round draft pick, but also pessimistic for a few reasons. While Portland will likely land in the mini-tournament, they are the least experienced and least talented of the four teams headed to it, and it’s doubtful they’d advance. Even if Chicago does add the pick, what has Karnisovas proven with previous draft selections that would excite the fanbase about gaining another one?