Bulls can draft steadying force if they get 9th pick in 2026 NBA Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's about time for the Chicago Bulls to start turning things around.
That could start, in part, with a top-10 pick in the stacked 2026 NBA Draft.
The Bulls hold the ninth-best lottery odds, which means that if things fell exactly in order, they'd have the No. 9 overall pick.
In the latest mock draft from ESPN's Jeremy Woo, he has the Bulls use the ninth spot to draft Brayden Burries out of Arizona.
A one-and-done standout, Burries is a talented point guard who can both score and distribute. He'd be a steadying presence in a Bulls organization that very much needs that.
"Burries endeared himself to teams over the course of the season as a steady two-way contributor with room to grow as a scorer," Woo writes. "Scouts see a intriguing upside as he continues to improve as an on-ball playmaker, but he is a solid-enough shooter to play the two, giving him appealing versatility. He is older than other freshman guards in the lottery and not as toolsy or flashy, but might be closer to directly impacting winning."
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Burries doesn't have a problem with the spotlight. He played AAU basketball with Bryce James (and then was on the stacked Arizona team that LeBron's youngest son redshirted for). Burries and the Wildcats were ranked as the top team in the country for much of the season.
He's definitely the type of play Chicago needs.
"Burries would be a solid fit on the perimeter next to Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis and a long-term upgrade on Chicago's current backcourt options," Woo writes.
If the Bulls get good lottery luck and move up the board, there'd be even more guards to choose from. But Burries wouldn't be a bad outcome at all.
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