Why Trail Blazers making the playoffs is excellent news for Bulls
The Bulls will receive an extra first-round pick from Portland after the Blazers qualified for postseason play.
Why Trail Blazers making the playoffs is excellent news for Bulls originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Chicago Bulls should send a thank you card to the Portland Trail Blazers .
With their 114-110 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Wednesday night, the Blazers officially clinched a spot in the postseason – and delivered the Bulls an extra first-round pick in the process. Bulls receive Blazers first-round pick in 2026 NBA Draft The Bulls were owed a first-round pick from Portland dating back to the Lauri Markkanen trade in 2021. The pick was lottery-protected, and since the Blazers have been in the lottery every year since '21, they held onto the pick.
But since they made the playoffs, the Blazers won't land in the lottery this year, and thus the pick finally transferred to Chicago. The Bulls now have two first-round picks in the highly-hyped 2026 draft: Their own and Portland's, which will expected to come in at No. 15 or 16.
Overall, the Bulls are expected to have four picks in the draft. That's some serious draft capital for a team that could desperately use an infusion of young talent. Nailing the two first-rounders could help to jumpstart a rebuild for a Bulls team that hasn't won a playoff series since 2015.