Now that the deadline has passed for NBA prospects to withdraw from the NBA Draft process, we are able to confirm that Drake Powell is 100% committed to going to the league. While this is disappointing for Carolina fans, it is also an exciting time for Powell, especially since the noise around him is getting louder and louder. It seems like a handful of teams have their eye on him, and one of those teams is the Chicago Bulls.
KC Johnson with CHGO Sports Network joined the Chicago Lead to discuss the NBA Draft, and discussed Powell working out for the Bulls at the Advocate Center.
“I do know that they would prefer to draft somebody in the frontcourt or a wing. And if you do go guard route, it’s going to be a big guard. Big guard with some positional size, or a guard that could play in multiple positions. One guy… that actually is rising a little bit with draft talk, … is Drake Powell, the toolsy prospect out of North Carolina.
“It’s early. We’ll see where this goes. But I know that the Bulls were, from what I’m told, impressed with his first workout at the Advocate Center.”
Earlier in the segment, Johnson said that the Bulls actually thought Powell was “very, very impressive” in his workouts, which is a common theme in what we’ve been hearing during this draft process regarding the former Tar Heel. Johnson also made it a point to bring up that Coby White and Drake Powell’s families are close, and while I do not know how much that matters when it comes to who teams draft, it is something worth noting regardless.
Drake Powell going to the Chicago Bulls would be an interesting development, to say the least. The franchise has been in a very weird limbo for basically Coby White’s entire stay in Chicago, though they recently offloaded Zach LaVine, who was on a super max contract before being traded to the Sacramento Kings. They also traded Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which led to them acquiring Josh Giddey, who has been really impressive for them. As Johnson pointed out, the big needs for the Bulls are in the front court and at the wing position, and Powell would be able to provide a solid boost there.
Whether or not the Bulls will aggressively pursue Drake Powell is anybody’s guess — as of right now, Powell is seen to be an early second round pick, but he’s also one of those guys that could end up being a steal if a team is brave enough to draft him in the first round. At this rate, though, it’s hard to say that it would be a “brave” move, especially since he tested out as one of the best athletes in the draft.
