\u201cI almost fainted,\u201d Graham said with a laugh after Sunday\u2019s lottery. \u201cI can\u2019t believe it. I just got the job and I got the fourth pick. This is crazy, man. This is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Duke](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-BULLS_e13786.jpg\")
Duke forward Cameron Boozer talks to media during the NBA draft lottery Sunday, May 10, 2026, at Navy Pier. (AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh)<\/p>\n
By Sunday, most draft predictors had comfortably settled on a consensus top four in this draft: BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson.<\/p>\n
But despite the consensus quality of this group, there\u2019s no clear-cut order in which they will be taken. That means any member of the quartet might be available for the Bulls to pick at No. 4.<\/p>\n
Graham said he has a personal prediction for the order of the top four picks, but he knows that\u2019s only a guessing game \u2014 even if his guesses are well-informed by experience with the rest of the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the consensus, but I\u2019m not looking at it like that,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThis is a deep draft. There are a lot of good players all throughout.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bulls last had the No. 4 pick in 2020, when they selected forward Patrick Williams. His underwhelming career \u2014 and overpriced contract \u2014 deliver a warning of the unpredictability of talent selection even at this point in the draft.<\/p>\n
Although Graham didn\u2019t name Williams, he emphasized the weight of this decision from a scouting perspective. He noted that top players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15), Devin Booker (No. 13), Kawhi Leonard (No. 15), Tyrese Maxey (No. 21) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 11) fell significantly outside of the top four in their draft classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, there are guys in the top four that don\u2019t end up panning out that well,\u201d Graham said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be really thorough in our process. I\u2019m really excited about where we\u2019re at. We think we\u2019re in a good position, but I\u2019m not going to jump the gun.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not sit here and say because we have the fourth pick, all of a sudden this franchise is back. This is just a good opportunity to add high-level talent and build this and layer it appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bulls](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-BULLS-0506013_cdaeaa.jpg\")
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham responds to a question during an introductory news conference Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at the Advocate Center. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Graham took a clear stance on one draft philosophy: The Bulls want to take the best player available.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s approaching the current roster as a clean slate<\/a>. The Bulls don\u2019t need to worry about fit or position. The player they draft at No. 4 \u2014 in addition to those taken with the No. 15 pick and in the second round \u2014 will be viewed as the first layer upon which Graham will begin building the team\u2019s style and system.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an eyes, ears, numbers combination,\u201d Graham said. \u201cWhoever you feel like is going to project to be the best basketball player throughout the course of their career, that\u2019s who you take. \u2026 Whether it\u2019s a 6-foot-4 guard or a 6-foot-11 big man, you just want to take who you believe will have the best career.<\/p>\n \u201cThis team is fluid. Trying to find a fit is not the right way to approach it. You want to take the best player.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham is known as an elite identifier of talent, one of the main factors that landed him the job in Chicago. The No. 1 pick will offer a prime opportunity for him to test those abilities as he makes a difficult choice out of this elite class.<\/p>\n The Bulls also own the No. 15 pick \u2014 the first selection outside of the lottery \u2014 which was acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, in addition to a pair of second-rounders (Nos. 38 and 56). This slew of picks will provide the foundation for the team\u2019s rebuild under Graham<\/a>.<\/p>\n For Graham, the next month will be focused on gathering and analyzing as much data as possible. That process begins this week with the draft combine at Wintrust Arena. The Bulls will gather medical records, physical measurements and other important data. From there, they will begin to analyze players\u2019 college portfolios through both analytics and personal analysis.<\/p>\n Graham emphasized that it\u2019s important for the Bulls front office not to \u201cdig your heels in\u201d on any individual player at this point in the scouting process. And while he cares deeply about finding the most talented player, he also wants to use this pick to identify a player who fits his brand: high-character, mentally tough players with a strong competitive drive.<\/p>\n \u201cThe basketball part, that will work itself out,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Bulls just landed the first win of the Bryson Graham era without playing a single game.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[2695,7,19366,7146,17047,329,17641,12,249],"class_list":["post-731001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-aj-dybantsa","tag-basketball","tag-bryson-graham","tag-caleb-wilson","tag-cameron-boozer","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-darryn-peterson","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-draft-lottery"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116552629042380283","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}