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After years of finding themselves stuck in dreaded NBA purgatory, the Bulls have finally committed to a full rebuild. They traded their veterans at the deadline, parted ways with executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, and have just announced that head coach Billy Donovan has decided to leave the team on his own accord. There is lots of change underway in Chicago, marking an end to one of the ugliest eras in Bulls history.
Thanks to the Trail Blazers clinching a spot in the Western Conference playoffs, the Bulls now own two first-round picks in the 2026 draft. This will be a make-or-break year for the Bulls’ new GM, as owning two picks in a draft class considered “generational” by scouts could completely change the franchise’s fortunes. To refresh fans’ memories and help scouts learn from their mistakes, here is an overview of the ten biggest draft busts in Chicago history.
10. Dalen Terry
Drafted 18th overall (2022)
Notable players passed on: Christian Braun, Walker Kessler, Andrew Nembhard
Although expectations always remain low for draft picks outside the lottery, Dalen Terry deserves a mention due to his failure to make any sort of impact.
Terry always stood out as a project, as he only averaged eight points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in his sophomore year with Arizona. Despite the lack of eye-popping stats, Terry’s ability to cover multiple positions on defense offered an elite level of versatility that the Bulls needed after Lonzo Ball’s torn meniscus.
Billy Donovan and the coaching staff failed to help develop Terry into even a valuable role player. He failed to crack significant minutes in the rotation throughout his Bulls tenure, only averaging 11.1 minutes over four seasons. His defense performance was serviceable, but his offensive inefficiency made him a liability on the court. Terry shot just 44.3% overall and an abysmal 31.4% from deep, making his departure from the Bulls this past trade deadline inevitable.
9. Doug McDermott
Drafted: 11th overall (2014)
Notable players passed on: Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic
Unlike most of this list, Doug McDermott has fleshed out a solid career as a role player for various teams and is still active in today’s league. However, McDermott’s career got off to enough of a rocky start with Chicago that he earns a spot on this list.
McDermott was an absolute baller at Creighton, where he played under his dad, Greg McDermott, and put the Blue Jays on the map as a powerhouse mid-major. He had some of the most natural scoring ability in the NCAA, as he averaged over 22 points for three seasons. To cap his career at Creighton, he averaged 26.7 points and seven rebounds while going on to win AP Player of the Year for his senior year effort.
These numbers made McDermott impossible to pass up for Chicago. GM Gar Forman was so enamored with McDermott that he traded the 16th and 19th picks to Denver in exchange for the 11th pick. This trade instantly made the pick a gamble, one that did not pay out.
McDermott did not fit Tom Thibodeau’s scheme at all in his rookie year. Thibodeau valued high-effort players on defense, and McDermott was a massive liability on that end of the ball. McDermott also struggled to consistently knock down shots at the same level he did in college, shooting 31.7% in his rookie year.
To make matters worse, the Nuggets drafted Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris with the 16th and 19th picks. Nurkic and Harris both recorded significantly higher numbers than McDermott and served key roles for their teams (Nurkic was dealt to Portland after his second season. McDermott lasted just three seasons with Chicago before being traded to the Thunder.
8. Tate Armstrong
Drafted: 13th overall (1977)
Notable players passed on: Rickey Green, Norm Nixon
Many younger fans will not recognize Tate Armstrong’s name. Armstrong played for Duke in the pre-Coach K era and served as an offensive juggernaut for the time period. He averaged 23.7 points per game in his last two seasons, making his way onto scouts radars.
Unfortunately for Chicago, drafting Armstrong did not benefit their offense. Armstrong’s skill set that thrived for the Blue Devils did not translate to the NBA, as he lacked the speed and physicality to hang with the rest of the league. Lingering effects from a broken wrist suffered at Duke, combined with persistent knee injuries, also kept Armstrong off the court. Injuries held him to just 26 games played in his second and final season. Armstrong’s career ended after two years, where he finished with averages of 3.8 points, 1.1 assists, and one rebound per game.
7. Denzel Valentine
Drafted: 14th overall (2016)
Notable players passed on: Caris LeVert, Pascal Siakam, Dejounte Murray
Fans thought the Bulls landed a steal in Denzel Valentine after a year of poor lottery luck, due to Valentine’s ascension to superstardom at Michigan State. However, Valentine’s career turned into a cautionary tale of how big numbers in college do not automatically translate to the NBA level.
Valentine had a monster senior season with the Spartans, where he became the first player to average 19/7/7 in the NCAA since assists were recognized as an official stat category. He also shot an efficient 44% from behind the arc and went on to win AP Player of the Year for his impressive play and leadership. His ability to record triple-doubles and excel all-around made him an exciting prospect that the Bulls could not pass up at pick 14.
Once Valentine took the court for Chicago, the speed of the game caught up to him. Valentine struggled on both ends of the ball, as he lacked the lateral quickness needed to excel as a defender and the athleticism to create scoring opportunities. His shot selection also stood out as notoriously poor, as his airballs often went viral in Bulls’ social media communities. Valentine averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and two assists per game in four seasons before the Bulls let him walk in free agency.
6. Marcus Fizer
Drafted: 4th overall (2000)
Notable players passed on: Mike Miller, Hedo Turkoglu, Michael Redd
The 2000 draft class has been historically regarded as one of the NBA’s worst ever, yet the Bulls still found a way to find one of the worst of the crop. Marcus Fizer ascended up on draft boards after an electric junior year at Iowa State. He averaged 22.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and capped off the season by leading the Cyclones to the Elite Eight in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. This performance put Fizer on scouts’ radars, and general manager Jerry Krause drafted Fizer with the hopes that he could develop into a dominant big man for Chicago.
Unfortunately, these hopes for Fizer’s development strayed far from reality. Fizer underwhelmed during his Bulls tenure, lacking the athleticism and durability to bring his gameplay to the next level. In four seasons, he averaged a mere 10.5 points, five rebounds, and 1.2 assists. The Bulls opted not to protect Fizer during the 2004 expansion draft, in which the Charlotte Hornets selected him and put an abrupt end to the Fizer experiment in Chicago.
5. Jay Williams
Drafted: 2nd overall (2002)
Notable players passed on: A’mare Stoudemire, Nene, Caron Butler
Jay Williams’ ranking on this list is subject to how you view injuries, but the “what if” surrounding his potential makes his story too disappointing not to earn a top-five spot on this list.
Following two consecutive seasons finishing with the league’s worst record, Williams caught the Bulls’ eye with their fourth-ever top-two pick in 2002. Williams stood out as a as an exciting, playmaking point guard who could give Chicago a much-needed identity lacking since the Jordan era. He had an outstanding career at Duke, where he averaged 19/4/6 over three seasons and led the Blue Devils to a national championship in his sophomore year. To top it off, he earned the AP Player of the Year nomination for his junior year after averaging 21.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
The story of Williams’ NBA career unfortunately ended in tragedy. After a promising rookie year where he averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 assists under a limited 26 minutes per game, Williams suffered a career-ending injury during the 2003 offseason. Williams crashed his motorcycle into a streetlight in the summer of 2003. He suffered a fractured pelvis, torn knee ligaments, and a severed nerve in his leg. He played just one season in the NBA before the crash, which prevented him from ever playing basketball again in a devastating conclusion to his Bulls tenure.
4. Brad Sellers
Drafted: 9th overall (1986)
Notable players passed on: Scott Skiles, Dell Curry, Mark Price
The road to the Bulls’ first title in the Jordan era did not go without its misgivings. The 1986 draft serves as one of the greatest examples of this, as rumors swirled that Michael Jordan and general manager Jerry Krause did not see eye to eye on their draft plan.
Jordan reportedly wanted the team to draft point guard Johnny Dawkins, who averaged 20/3/3 in his senior season at Duke. Krause, however, had his eyes on Brad Sellers. Sellers spent four years playing for Wisconsin and Ohio State, averaging 16.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks over his career. His senior year performance propelled his draft stock to the top ten, where he grabbed 12.6 rebounds and scored 19.8 points per game.
Sadly for Krause, Jordan proved right in his assessment of Sellers. Sellers proved to be too skinny for an NBA frontcourt, struggling to use his body to grab boards. The once gifted rebounder averaged a shockingly low 3.5 rebounds while scoring a pedestrian 8.3 points per game. Sellers’ offensive deficiencies caused the Bulls to give up on him after just three seasons. Luckily for Krause, he righted the wrong by trading Sellers for the 18th pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, which turned into starting point guard and All-Star B.J. Armstrong.
3. Stacey King
Drafted: 6th overall (1989)
Notable players passed on: Mookie Blaylock, Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp
Stacey King may be a Bulls legend in the broadcasting booth, but his on-court performance left much to be desired. The fan-favorite commentator established himself as a lottery pick in the 1989 draft after an incredible senior year at Oklahoma, where he averaged 26 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. These numbers appealed to a Bulls team that had not yet won a ring in the Jordan era. King’s 6’11, 230-pound frame made him an intriguing, can’t-miss prospect to Chicago that could provide a needed, strong frontcourt presence.
Unfortunately, King never panned out to his potential displayed with the Sooners. He contributed as a valuable role player during the Bulls’ 1991-93 title runs, but failed to develop into the star Chicago had in mind. King struggled to use his body to his advantage, failing to consistently grab boards and shut down defensive assignments. Over four-plus seasons with the team, King averaged just 6.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game before being traded to Minnesota for Luc Longley.
2. Patrick Williams
Drafted: 4th overall (2020)
Notable players passed on: Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Desmond Bane
More than enough time has passed in Patrick Williams’ Bulls tenure to secure himself a top-two placement on this list. P-Will caught the Bulls’ eye with the fourth overall pick in 2020, displaying elite two-way potential as a freshman at Florida State. This draft selection marked Arturas’ first pick as GM and the lowest draft pick the Bulls held since winning the Derrick Rose sweepstakes, instantly placing sky-high expectations for Williams’ ceiling.
Sadly, P-Will’s on-court performance has been a far cry from his draft billing. In six seasons with the Bulls, P-Will has averaged just nine points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Due to P-Will’s passive style of play, his averages have stayed nearly the same throughout his career. His outside shooting percentage has decreased each of the last three seasons, falling from 39.9% in 2023-24 to an ugly, career low 34.7% this year. He has played in a scared manner his whole Bulls tenure, failing to create and take open shots while battling constant, lingering injuries.
To make matters worse, Tyrese Haliburton has blossomed into a superstar for Indiana at the 12th pick. Reports indicate that Haliburton “begged” the Bulls front office to draft him, making it a devastating miss for a Chicago team that badly needed a point guard in 2020. Passing on Haliburton for Williams shows that Arturas did not do enough due diligence during draft time, a mistake that haunts this franchise anytime they play the Pacers or think about the 2025 NBA finals.
1. Tyrus Thomas
Drafted: 4th overall, acquired in draft-day trade with Portland (2006)
Notable players passed on: Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry
Draft-day trades have historically ended in disaster for the Bulls, with Tyrus Thomas serving as the greatest example of this cautionary tale. Chicago initially held the second pick in 2006, where they selected LaMarcus Aldridge before instantly trading down with Portland for the fourth pick, which instead gave them the rights to Thomas.
Then general manager John Paxson viewed Thomas as a more athletic prospect than Aldridge and a better fit for the Bulls with higher upside. Thomas averaged 12.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game in his freshman year at LSU. Compared to Aldridge’s 15 points, 9.2 rebounds, and two blocks per game in his sophomore year at Texas, Thomas posed as the bigger gamble in contrast to Aldridge’s proven experience.
The gamble obviously blew up in Paxson’s face, as Thomas made zero significant impact on either end of the ball. He failed to develop the fundamental skills needed to thrive in the frontcourt and relied way too much on his athleticism. Thomas averaged a pedestrian 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game before being dealt to the Hornets at the 2010 trade deadline, marking an end to a beyond disappointing tenure in Chicago.
On the contrary, Aldridge developed into a star for the Trail Blazers. He made seven All-Star appearances and averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists over his career, establishing himself as an elite power forward in the NBA. Combining the draft day blunder with Thomas’ lackluster production makes him the Bulls’ biggest draft bust in my eyes.
Who do you think was the biggest bust and snub from the list? Let me know in the comments.
