Chicago Bulls fail to summon NBA Draft Lottery magic and give up pick to Orlando

A look at how the high stakes of the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery played out for the Chicago Bulls

© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

A day that began with guarded optimism ended with Chicago Bulls right back at square one and without a draft pick. On Tuesday night, the team's chances to move up in the NBA Draft Lottery were gone as their pick went to the Orlando Magic instead. The Bulls had an 8.5% chance of jumping up into the top four picks and a minuscule 1.8% chance of snagging the top pick. Although the Bulls had hoped for some lottery luck, it wasn't meant to be.

Orlando gets the 11th pick

When it was all said and done, the Bulls were left empty-handed as they were stuck with the 11th pick, meaning their top-four protected pick in the first-round heads to the Magic as the final part of the trade they made for All-Star center Nikola Vucevic back in 2021.

Bulls stay at 11th at NBA Draft Lottery and will cede their pick to the Orlando Magic

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 17, 2023

That deal saw the Bulls send promising big man Wendell Carter Jr. and two first-round picks to the Magic for Vucevic. Orlando has since picked Franz Wagner last season, and the talented forward went on to be named to the All-Rookie team before having a solid sophomore season as well where he averaged 18.6 points.

Time to get creative

Without much draft capital, the Bulls have no choice but to get creative with their roster building this offseason. Tough decisions will have to be made by executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas and the front office as they try to maximize the team's potential with limited resources. One thing is certain – Chicago will need a lot of luck to improve next season.