Despite prospects like Dennis Smith, Jr. still on the board for the Chicago Bulls after they traded Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves back in June, the Bulls took their chances and took Arizona freshman Lauri Markkanen with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Bulls not only didn’t invite Markkanen in for a private pre-draft workout, they hardly spoke to Markkanen before making them a piece of their future core in Chicago. Questions began flying in like O’Hare International Airport and many were wondering what the Bulls were doing, especially with the Nikola Mirotic contract situation (that’s still somehow going in later September).