Bulls land Miami standout Jalil Bethea at No. 4 in ESPN’s 2025 mock draft

A consensus five-star recruit, Bethea runs the point in the Hurricane’s current season progress

© Nur B. Adam / Bucks County Courier Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

While they are yet to manage the looming free agency situation of DeMar DeRozan as well as the critical direction of their future this upcoming summer, these won't stop the Chicago Bulls from continuing to identify the potential new building blocks of their franchise.

It might be 16 months away but the 2025 NBA Draft already offers the Bulls to look forward to picking fresh and youthful pieces who can aid their campaign for years to come and join Coby White, Ayo Dosumnu and Patrick Williams in the team's young nucleus.

Bulls land Bethea at No. 4

On Monday, ESPN’s NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony released his first 2025 mock draft. His projection notes that the Bulls will land Jalil Bethea for the fourth overall selection.

The 2025 NBA draft is 16 months away, but teams have already begun building out files to identify and monitor next year's top prospects.

Here's how we view the Top-10. We went 59 deep with a full analysis of how this class is shaping up: https://t.co/31IPNRIRHX pic.twitter.com/TlSHm1DEPL

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 26, 2024

Jalil Bethea’s background

Bethea, 18, is currently a freshman standout for the Miami Hurricanes. A consensus five-star recruit, he ranks as the sixth overall prospect by 247Sports for the class of 2024.

Hailing from Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Bethea’s landing in the Hurricanes’ program makes him the highest-rated prospect to enter the team since current NBA swingman Lonnie Walker IV. As he boasts an elite mixture of shooting, passing and growing defensive capabilities, he is widely regarded as a talented prospect who will soon enter the league.

Jalil Bethea went OFF for 40 PTS at the @HoophallClassic tonight🔥 pic.twitter.com/XzkZa9cYQj

— NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) January 14, 2024

It is yet to be seen what will unfold for the Bulls’ fortunes next season and if they'll ultimately land in the lottery spot of the 2025 draft. But monitoring Bethea’s college progress won't hurt them as the glimpse of his promising brilliance can play a huge role in determining the rebuild pathways they may like to consider following this 2023-24 season.

The report asks the biggest question of them all: What’s the Chicago Bulls’ plan?